Incarnation of Malice
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Sequel to "Global Winds". Yet another "season" of terrorism by Neo Gospel has begun. Just when the Net Saviors had cornered them, they manage to slip away. Their new tactics cause tensions amongst the allies, and other parties also interfere thus increasing the frustrations. Neo Gospel is ready to show the whole world its might... The last battle is close... Rated M for lemon.
1. Chapter 1: Exercise

**Incarnation of Malice**

 **By Zoram Selrof**

 **Chapter 1: Exercise**

07:13 AM (Japan Time), Monday April 2nd, 2010...

"... Huff, huff!"

"... Huff... Huff..."

"... One, two, one, two..."

"... Hum... Hum..."

"Put more intensity into it, Hinoken and Count Elec! Else I'll have you make an extra 40 push-ups as punishment!"

"Y-yes, Dr. Wily-sama!"

" _R-roger, sir_!"

"Madoi! You don't look like you're taking it seriously!"

"Yikes! I am sorry, sir!"

"Why can't you learn from Maha Jarama over there? He does take it seriously and with discipline!"

The four ex-members of the "WWW" and staff of the "Maha Ichiban" restaurant were doing push-ups next to a river while Dr. Wily in his usual vagabond-like outfit oversaw them from the main street parallel to the river and separated by a short grassy slope: he had his arms crossed as he scolded Hinoken, Count Elec and Madoi for not taking the push-ups seriously while Maha calmly did them in a calm and methodical manner: all four wore gym clothes.

"I… still… fail… to… see… the… point…!" Hinoken complained between each push-up.

"Eeeiii! How many times do I have to repeat myself?" Wily grumbled.

"Yikes!"

"I can hear you! I'm not deaf!"

"A million apologies!"

"Shut up! Put more effort into it! Lazy pyromaniac!"

"Y-yes, sir…!"

"Hmpf!" Count Elec sneered.

"You too! Count Elec!"

"Yikes! _Y-yes, sir_!"

"Sheesh." Madoi sighed.

"Hum." Maha didn't comment.

"Those Neo Gospel rascals won't limit themselves to the Cyber World forever! Knowing them, one day they might hire assassins to come after us! This training is so that you improve your reflexes! It's for your SURVIVAL! Your lives might depend on your reflexes!" Wily reminded them.

"B-but…" Madoi began to say.

"No "buts"! You can't take anything for granted with those types, especially with how random they can be!"

"Indeed."

"How can you… take it so calmly?" Hinoken grumbled.

"Discipline and training. I do 50 push-ups each morning before heading to the restaurant." Maha calmly replied.

"That's what I call discipline! I've been saying it for years but it'd seem my advices fall on deaf ears!"

The other gulped and increased rate of push-up while Wily sighed and shook his head sideways out of exasperation.

"Makes me wonder what I saw you in you guys when I hired you back then… Guess I just wanted types who could start a ruckus." He muttered to himself.

He glanced behind him at a Toshiba laptop placed atop his robot cart filled with empty cans: Fire Man, Elec Man, Colored Man and Magic Man were training against automated Navis using cache Program Advances.

"At least they take it more seriously than you do." He muttered next.

"Fire Arm!"

"Elec Beam!"

"Aqua Tower!"

"Magic Saber!"

"But nevertheless… Those guys have kept with their "hit and run" campaign and we're no closer to figuring out their hideout… They seem to be changing constantly…"

"…97… 98…"

"…99…"

"…100!"

"PHEW!"

The group reached 100 push-ups so they stopped: Maha kept on while the other three were beaten.

"We've been doing this since last month and you still can't do more than 100 push-ups? Sheesh."

"Hmm? Wait. There's someone spying us!" Elec Man suddenly warned the other three.

"Neo Gospel?" Fire Man wondered.

"Who else?" Colored Man shrugged.

"One of those two again? Sigh." Magic Man sighed.

"Hmpf! Looks like you still keep your senses, sharp, old man!" Someone taunted.

"Who are you talking to?" Elec Man demanded.

"To you, scrap!"

"Scrap? Me? Wait, that voice…"

"Hmpf!"

"Sheesh. Not you again."

"Oh yeah! It's me! And this time around I'll wipe you off!"

Magnet Man suddenly stepped in brandishing his usual ruler and with his usual smirk: Elec Man hissed and formed a grimace while the other three got into fighting stance too.

"Hmpf. The extremist came, huh?" Wily taunted.

"E-extremist? Me?" Magnet Man didn't expect that one.

"Catch the joke?" He smugly challenged.

"Wha~t?" He got a twitch over his right eye.

" _Damn it_! It's either _aniki_ or Tesla, come to annoy again!" Count Elec hissed.

"Well?" Dr. Wily suddenly asked to someone else.

"There's no-one in a 30 meter radius." Oozono Yuriko suddenly dropped from a nearby tree's cup.

"Shah, shah, shah! There's a backdoor!" Needle Man reported.

"Typical." He wasn't too surprised.

"Talk about an unoriginal joke, father." Yuriko sighed.

"What joke?" Magnet Man demanded.

"Dunno. Ask Ninja Man."

"Shadow Man? What does the guy know?"

"Maybe he stole secret info back when he worked for your previous owner? Ninja are sneaky, you know? Maybe he wanted an "insurance" in case you didn't pay him for his services."

"Sheesh. Damned sneaky mice."

"Well? Coming or not?" Elec Man drew an Elec Sword and stepped forward.

"Wait! Go after that _ninja otaku_ , Magnet Man!" Tesla Magnets commanded over the radio.

"As you wish, ma'am." He acknowledged.

"Uncle's little pet comes later!" She sneered

"Little pet!? Me!?" Elec Man raged.

"Let the loser flee like a dog." Wily ordered.

"Loser? Dog? ME!?" Magnet Man hissed.

"I gave you an order!" Tesla complained.

"Huh! Roger, ma'am! You were lucky!"

"Move your butt, communist leftover!" Tesla hissed.

"C-communist leftover? Me? Ma'am?" He gasped.

"MOVE YOUR DAMNED BUTT!"

Magnet Man rushed off the arena while Wily smirked: Yuriko didn't seem amused, Count Elec looked about to strangle the air, and the others were indifferent.

"Why did you send him after Shadow Man?" Madoi asked.

"Meh! To play around with them."

"Wha? Thought it was some plan."

"I have random moods, too! Heh."

"And what's the joke about?" Hinoken asked.

"Won't tell! Boil your brains a bit!"

"R-roger, sir…"

"Huff. This is so stupid."

"Don't worry. Knowing Dark Miyabi he'll teach that extremist a lesson or two… Heh, heh, heh. Anyway. I'll be going. We meet again here at the usual time tomorrow!"

The Operators nodded and drew their Link PETs to recall their Navis into them: Wily shut the laptop and stored it on the bag he carried before walking away while pushing the cart and followed by Yuriko.

"I still don't get the joke." Hinoken grumbled.

"I don't, either." Count Elec sighed.

"Do you get it, Maha?"

"Sadly, no. Maybe we'll eventually figure it out? Anyway. Let's go."

7:34 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmmm?"

"What's the matter, Shadow Man?"

"Someone's stalking me…"

"The usual idiots?"

"Hmmm… No. Signature is different."

Dark Miyabi was sitting cross-legged under a waterfall in a gorge somewhere and apparently meditating: his clothes were folded and placed a few meters in front of him along with his Link PET: Shadow Man had gripped his _katana_ sheath and looked about to unsheathe it while Miyabi was calm and collected.

"Found you! Mice!"

"That voice… Magnet Man, huh?"

"Give back the data you stole from the Gauss Console!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb! You wanted a guarantee in case we didn't pay you so you stole secret data from both Gospel and the Gauss Console!"

Magnet Man appeared into the Link PET's room decorated with _ninja_ motifs: Shadow Man had drawn his _katana_ and wasn't too surprised while Magnet Man was pretty annoyed.

"And you're going to confess why Dr. Wily names me "extremist"!"

"Dr. Wily named you that? Hmpf."

"Somehow I suspect he's the one who provoked this guy to come bother us. That old geezer…" Miyabi grumbled.

"Wouldn't surprise me if he made up that lie to send that guy here… Since we told him we didn't to take part in his "training"…"

"What? So I got fooled by that gramps?" Tesla complained.

"Ssshhh! Tesla! Some respect!" Gauss Magnets hushed.

"But, Father…!"

"No matter what side he's in, Dr. Wily is Dr. Wily!"

"It's just that you have an odd obsession over him. He's not a saint or anything like that." She fumed.

"Well, same could be said of you!" Gauss grumbled.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Do you think I don't know you're obsessed with Leonardo DiCaprio and that you're avidly collecting stuff related to him, huh?"

"T-that's…"

"So? Are you going to bark the whole day or you can bite? Extremist or whatever you're supposed to be." Shadow Man taunted.

Magnet Man hissed and Shadow Man suddenly jumped to avoid an attack from behind by the "S" clone of Magnet Man which he formed during his "N-S Tackle" attack: Magnet Man quickly jumped too after Shadow Man and tried to attack with his ruler but Shadow Man easily blocked it with his _katana_ using the right hand while he shot _kunai_ with the left one: Magnet Man formed a magnetic barrier to repel them and Shadow Man simply snapped his left hand's index and middle fingers: several _shuriken_ popped out of nowhere and stabbed Magnet Man's back since his barrier only protected the front: Magnet Man hissed and used magnetism to pull them out and fling them towards Shadow Man who simply formed a wooden log out of nowhere and had the _shuriken_ stab there: Magnet Man shot his "Mag Balls" towards the log followed by his "Mag Missiles" but Shadow Man simply swapped with a clay statue of a _samurai_ and appeared behind Magnet Man to try to stab him with the blade but a magnetic field repelled it so he simply shrugged and landed on the ground as Magnet Man did the same.

"Answer me!"

"I don't know and I don't give a crap."

"What!"

"Dr. Wily. You owe an explanation."

Miyabi, on the meanwhile, had dressed back and was using a flip cellphone to talk to Dr. Wily.

"Heh, heh, heh. Nothing beats some good morning exercise." Wily chuckled over the phone.

"Hmpf."

"Guess it wasn't of your liking. Maybe next time I'll send you Bruce Wayne to have some philosophical talks."

"It's not remotely funny."

"As for why I named that guy "extremist"… Mr. Claws has the answer to that, no?"

"Mr. Claws? Who's that? Beast Man?" Miyabi frowned.

"A distant cousin."

"Very funny." Miyabi drily replied.

"There are too many characters with claws." Shadow Man grumbled.

"He's part of the Y Brigade."

"Y Brigade?"

"Stop beating around the bush, old man!" Tesla complained.

"Tesla! What did I tell you about manners!?" Gauss complained.

"There's no such brigade to begin with!" Magnet Man complained next.

"Heh, heh, heh. Well, well. Maybe the Professor Z resents how his old partner has become an extremist?"

"… Wait a minute… That rings a bell somewhere…" Miyabi muttered as he rubbed his chin with the left hand.

"… Aha. I finally got it." Shadow Man muttered next.

"What?"

"It's lame." Miyabi grumbled.

"I know. Old man's lame gags." Wily laughed.

"Sheesh." Yuriko sighed loud enough to be heard.

"Stop beating around the bush, you bunch of…!" Tesla hissed.

"MANNERS!" Gauss yelled.

"What madness." Magnet Man hissed.

"Maybe you prefer Vincent "Red"." Shadow Man taunted.

"Grrrrr…" He apparently knew Shadow Man had a point.

"Ah, I'm fed up! Give me this!" Yuriko was annoyed.

"Hey, wait…"

"What Father means is Professor X, of the X-Men! And Magneto, his old friend! You're MAGNET MAN so he associates you with MAGNETO who's considered an extremist!" Yuriko explained.

"Oh by all the… That's LAME!" Magnet Man groaned.

"Eeehhhh!?" Father and daughter were taken aback.

"Heh, heh, heh. I still can bite."

"Pathetic."

"If you must."

"And this is the point of all it? All this for a lame gag?" Magnet Man was exasperated.

"Kiiihhh! BLOW THEM UP!" Tesla was pissed off.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Fine." Shadow Man shrugged.

"I've got a trump card!"

"I know it. Your mosquito CPU."

"M-mosquito CPU? Is that a parody of mosquito brain?" Tesla was baffled by Shadow Man's taunt.

Magnet Man didn't pay heed and drew a grenade: he took out the safety pin and threw it at Shadow Man as he formed a magnetic barrier and also shot several "Mag Balls" and "Mag Missiles" at him: Shadow Man frowned and suddenly gasped as he realized something: Magnet Man made an eager grin as the grenade suddenly turned into a white mass of energy which began to grow and expand while erasing anything it came into contact with: Shadow Man regained his composure and suddenly jumped backwards as he aimed the _katana_ towards the ground.

"It's useless! You're done for!"

"I wonder about that…"

"What? Huh!? What!?"

The white energy suddenly vanished: most of the room's walls, ceiling and floor had been deleted without a trace revealing the plain background of the PET: Magnet Man looked around, puzzled, and suddenly narrowed his eyes as he noticed a faint figure distorting the air.

"What! Stealth camouflage!"

The camouflage faded to reveal a plain black slab with no features whatsoever about 2 meters and some tens of centimeters thick: Magnet Man gasped again.

"Damn! Those monoliths warp-gates! You warped the energy to elsewhere so that it'd collapse upon itself and fade!"

"Indeed. That was close, I must admit. Didn't expect Neo Gospel to have provided you with an ANTI-MATTER grenade of all things. But thanks to you we now know what to expect from them this season."

"Tesla! Idiot! Dr. Yoru said that it was for emergencies only!"

"What? Did he? I thought he said it was a trump card!"

"Hmpf! That's what happens when you let your spoiled daughter loose, Gauss-kun! Now, how are you going to explain it to him, huh? Be glad he's not Darth Vader." Wily taunted over the phone.

"YIKES! Plug Out!"

"Hey, wait…!"

Gauss retrieved Magnet Man while the audio channel also shut down: Shadow Man sighed in relief and sheathed the _katana_ while Miyabi grumbled and suddenly cut the wall with Wily.

"Let's go, Shadow Man. We've got two jobs to do today."

"Roger, Miyabi. Dr. Wily will take care of informing the others, anyway."

"And let's hope he doesn't disturb my morning meditation anymore!"

"Huff. Yeah. I'll have to be on my toes as well…"

08:19 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Sheesh. Where the heck did I stuff the report?"

"Looking for something? Meijin-kun."

"Ah. Dr. Regal. Yes, sir. I had a report about the new firmware updates here on my desk a while ago but now it's gone."

"Hmmm… Maybe Dr. Hikari thought it was ready and grabbed it when he came to search for you?"

"Ah! That could it be it, true."

Meijin was rummaging the drawers of his work desk in the Science Labs looking for something when Dr. Regal stepped in carrying a bulky folder full of documents: Meijin turned around to greet him.

"Meijin-san, this is security No. 129." A Police Navi appeared on the SE corner of Meijin's PC screen.

"Huh? Ah. A visitor?"

"Yes, sir. Mr. Needle Man. Passwords, data signature, all is correct."

"Good. Allow him in."

"Roger, sir."

"Shah, shah, shah! We've got news."

"Those clowns have done something out of the usual?"

"Huh? Ah. _Danna_. Hadn't seen ya, my bad."

"Don't mind it. You're no longer my subordinate. And, well?"

Needle Man appeared onscreen next and someone asked a question from behind: he glanced over his right shoulder to see Laser Man there.

"They have anti-matter grenades now."

"What!"

"They gave one to Magnet Man and the moron used it because his Operator thought it was meant to be a trump card instead of being something for emergencies only."

"I see. Do you have more details?"

"Shadow Man, who's the one who was brawling with the jerk, sent me footage of the grenade."

"This MP4 file, then. Good." Meijin sat on the chair and opened the email tab of his Chrome browser.

"From what Dr. Wily has analyzed, it has a delay of 3.5 seconds before activation once you take off the safety pin."

"Maybe it's a prototype." Dr. Regal warned.

"That's what he thought, too."

"Yeah. 3.5 seconds is not extremely fast for most Navis. They still have time to process and using something in cache they can react in slightly over 1 second." Meijin agreed as he looked at the video.

"They look like normal grenades which must the point. To make it look like it's an old-fashioned attack or an attempt to imitate real-world war tactics…"

"Ah! You're back, Meijin. See, this report is lacking two pages and… Is something the matter?"

"Ah! Dr. Hikari, sir. That report is incomplete since I printed an outdated version of the file, sir. I went to print the missing two pages but when I came back you'd taken it, sir."

Yuuichirou came in having a report folder and was slightly surprised: he looked like he hadn't shaved in some days.

"The enemy has a new weapon."

"Ah. What is it?"

"Anti-matter grenades."

"Devil."

"Yes. It was a matter of time before they turned them into more practical weapons."

"It must contain an anti-matter capsule kept stable by a magnetic field. The grenade alone has little mass so it doesn't amount for a lot of destruction but…"

"The issue is if there is a lot of matter around it when it's used."

"Exactly, sir. However, as we know, they don't last forever. There's a point in which the absorption rate of energy overcomes the limit and it collapses into itself thus dissipating."

"I think it'd be impractical for real-world use. So they're probably only going to use in the Cyber World. Knowing their egos, they probably want to keep it exclusive to themselves."

"I'll report it to Rick as well. Maybe he can think of a good countermeasure since it's his specialty."

"Alright."

Regal exited the room as Obihiro Shun came in, looking surprised, since he probably crossed paths with Regal.

"The enemy strikes back? Dr. Regal had a grave look to him."

"Ah, Obihiro-kun. Yeah. See."

Meijin played the video which was FPS (First Person View) of the Shadow Man VS Magnet Man fight: he was slightly surprised and rubbed his chin with the left hand as toyed with a pencil on his right hand.

"I see."

"Remember to keep this under wraps. There are many who are after Neo Gospel's tech and we mustn't them let know about these. Insofar we managed to wrap all about the anti-matter weapons but… We can't lower the guard."

"Of course, sir."

"Usual protocol, Meijin. This is unofficial research. There mustn't be records of it."

"Roger, sir."

"Well, I'm leaving."

"Alright. We'll send warnings to the Net Police and the other "defenders" as well. Top priority is readying counter-measures against these new weapons…"

"Roger. See ya, _Danna_."

"Don't take them lightly."

"Roger."

"Ah! One more thing. They might make other weapons with this. It probably won't be limited to grenades." Laser Man warned Needle Man was he was about to leave.

"Good point. Roger, _Danna_. Bye."

"Hmmm… I could see them using RPG-7s loaded with that. But now normal bullets since there's too little space." Meijin thought aloud as he turned his office chair to face the other two.

"Yeah. Hmmm… Maybe land-mines, too. Issue is: to what extremes do they intend to go to? Instead of nukes, use anti-matter missiles against Net Cities?" Obihiro wondered.

"That wouldn't benefit them, though. They thrive in the underground of societies… And cities are where they make their profits." Yuuichirou pointed out.

"Good point, sir. But if they get desperate you can never know what they'll do. Maybe if they feel cornered they'll try to drag many with them and trying to make us look like hypocrites for not stopping them… Would feel with that megalomaniac's behavior."

"… That's true, too. I get the impression that they're not actually not shifting bases, they make it look like they are."

"So all those bases we found were decoys, then… I was getting the impression as well…"

"Their leader is the type who throws people away like broken suits when they're no longer useful. It wouldn't be surprising if they went mad and decided to wreck the Cyber World before being brought down." Obihiro dully muttered but he had a hint of anger on his voice.

"Good points, too."

"… I sent him an email. It's already late night in King Land so he must be sleeping but his Navi will receive it. He will begin to research on counter-measures." Regal came back into the office.

"I already checked all radio waves and frequencies but there are no suspicious outgoing emissions." Laser Man reported.

"Well, they will soon know about Magnets' blunder so there's no need for them to spy on us…" Yuuichirou shrugged.

"Exactly. They will be more focused on trying to spy on the "Subspace", anyway."

"Good. I'll ready a warning and ring Commission Kifune so that he issues an alert. You compile all data and keep it in tight custody, Meijin. If you need help improving the security, Obihiro-kun can help you."

"Roger, sir."

"Understood, Dr. Hikari, sir."

"Good. Laser Man. You come back to my PC too. We need to coordinate with Rick's Navi to calculate possible mass of these weapons, time it'll take to detonate and how much time it'll expand before collapse. All are critical factors to take into account."

"Roger, sir."

"I'll be in my office."

"Alright."

Regal left again while Laser Man warped out of the PC: Meijin copied the data into a Toshiba external drive and deleted all copies on the PC: he unplugged the drive and nodded to Obihiro.

"Let's get working on the security for this."

"Roger, Meijin-san."

"… _San wa iranai…_ You needn't add it… Makes me feel older." Meijin muttered, sighing.

"But, sir…"

"Alright, alright. Do as you like. Else it's an infinite loop."

"Understood, sir."

"We'll work this on my flat to avoid leaving records here. Let's go."

"Roger, sir. We must be ready… The enemy will soon strike…"

"Indeed… And this time they might be fiercer than what they've been insofar… Neo Gospel… One day… You'll be brought down!"


	2. Chapter 2: Fierce beasts

**Chapter 2: Fierce beasts**

17:14 PM (Japan Time), Thursday April 5th…

"… Despite the news in Monday the guys haven't attacked yet… They even ceased their "hit and run" tactic… Guess that they didn't expect their plans to be known ahead of time…"

"Obviously. They must be discussing if they continue with their plans or they scrap them."

"Maybe it's a trap to make us get confident."

"Wouldn't surprise me, man."

"True. Knowing the lot…"

"That's why we must stay alert and not neglect daily training…"

"And going to the HQ to do the VR training on Saturdays… Whenever there's not too much homework or exams."

"The usual routine, Netto-kun."

"Of course, Saito-niisan."

"By the way, Nelaus, are you often checking your PC security?"

"Obviously."

Hikari Netto, Saito and another student were talking as they exited the middle school yard: they all wore the typical middle school student uniform, carried backpacks and their Link PETs (the usual colors for Netto's PET while Saito's was green instead).

This other student, Nelaus, was a guy around their age, a bit taller than them, who had blonde hair and green eye irises.

His PET was colored golden and purple.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. Don't worry. Sigma-sama, the Greek of the village lost in the mountains, will bust 'em again AND AGAIN!" A Navi's voice rang out from Nettos' PET.

"Don't get confident and don't quote Vincent." A Navi scolded from Saito's PET.

"Huff." Nelaus' Navi sighed.

"Don't fool around or else Omega will come to scold you." Netto rolled his eyes.

Sigma projected using the Link PET's projector.

He was colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area and it seemed to be missing the armor over its mass.

His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on both sides of his head and added a "demonic" look to him.

Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand which he was currently aiming at the floor in lazy manner.

"Mwah, hah, hah. Don't worry about Vincent. He shudders 'cause the shudder shudders a shudder!"

"Save me his insane endless tongue-twisters."

"Don't worry, Bloody Vampire!"

"Blood Shadow. Stop with the vampire jokes."

Blood Shadow, Saito's Navi, used red as his main body color.

He sported black shades and a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.

His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.

His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red.

A small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there: and, where the hand would be, a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.

"Don't worry! I've got all under control!"

"You don't. We've been tagging for about 6 years by now."

"Not 6 months?" He sneered.

"Sheesh. Don't imitate Higure-san and his denial of the Bowl Man Incident…"

"Oh boy…"

"So? What's your take, Isaac?"

"Well. I expect them to openly use those weapons. Guess they're too lazy to ditch all preparations."

"Hum. Thought so, too."

Nelaus' Navi, Isaac, also projected.

His face was young and looked like a guy on his teens: his eyes' irises were purple and he was calm.

His helmet had a central ruby jewel over the forehead shaped like a cross having four triangle ends: eight lines radiated from the central of it and spread across its surface.

The helmet's main color was navy blue and it was also filled with small round and random green dots.

His ear-pads had a white edge and a reddish central body: the Alphabet "I" letter colored purple had been printed there.

His neck had a piece of armor shaped like the Alphabet "V" protecting its base before the start of the chest: it had a cyan edge which split it into two halves the insides of which were colored yellow.

His shoulders were slightly curved square pieces with brown edges, a central silver matrix and five bronze paws forming out of the southern edge which weren't even 5cm long.

His main body color was blue and a central thin purple line spread from the neck's base until his waist, being interrupted by his chest emblem which had the same design as that of his ear-pads.

Some small jade-colored pieces made of two triangles aiming in opposite directions fused at their base were set in columns along the sides of his upper body: none of them were taller than 2cm.

His waist had a belt with three converging rectangular stripes of white edges and black body.

These fused in a diamond having a gray body plus a repetition of his Navi emblem on its center.

His arms had purplish DNA imprints painted over their surface.

His forearm armor had a magenta matrix on them.

His wrists were colored in a bronze color.

His hands were blue in color too and they had a circle with a white edge the insides of which depicted the Katana "I" colored purple: some "stars" were drawn at random over the background of the symbol with no sense of order whatsoever.

His legs had some round dots set along their height which contained a drawing.

The edge was brown, the core of it was purple and eight slightly curved lines painted red stretched from the core: the gaps between each one were colored blue.

The knees contained a circling bracelet colored mahogany and having those two fused triangles on the front colored golden.

The boots were colored purple and had an eight-pointed sapphire set on the inward side just below the ankle

Eight thin indigo lines spread from each spook of the sapphire and across the boot.

Overall he was very cool and looked advanced.

"Trouble."

"Huh? Ah! Yuriko. They're on the move?"

"Sure are! Sheesh!"

Yuriko suddenly ran up towards them looking pretty annoyed.

"Wha?" The Navis suddenly gasped at something.

"What?" The Operators asked.

"It's all over the SNS by now, but… Tokyo Internet City is under attack by… A huge wave of suicide Navis!" Isaac reported.

"Yes! Suicide Beast Men!" Yuriko fumed.

"What!?"

"They made countless copies with 1HP only of Beast Man that appear out of the blue, run wild around, and suddenly self-destruct causing a 25-meter wide explosion and shockwave which inflicts 200HP of damage! Fortunately all Navis nowadays have Under Shirt installed by default so they have 1HP left and don't get deleted plus auto-Plug Out but… But nevertheless the numbers are huge!"

"When did it begin?" Nelaus asked.

"Not even 5 minutes ago!"

"But these explosions aren't "it", right?" Saito asked in a hush.

"No. They're normal explosions."

"Maybe it's a decoy." Netto suggested.

"We thought so hence why Omega is on the Science Labs in case they're trying to pull something. I'm keeping Needle Man with Prism Man in the Net Police HQ too."

"I see."

The trio's PETs beeped and the video screen opened: Superintendent Manabe of the Net Police appeared.

"To all Net Saviors, here are your orders! Head to Tokyo Internet City and destroy as many foes as possible! If you attack them before they explode they are deleted without exploding! Have Barriers and Recovery-class Battle Chips at hand!" She commanded.

"Roger!"

"Sigma, this is Omega! You stay there while Blood and Isaac head to the scene! Same applies to the Operators! Head to the Net Police HQ from where we'll coordinate things!" A voice ordered over Sigma's radio.

"Roger, sir!"

"Now's not the time for idiocies so get serious! Help check for any backdoors or traps those rascals might've set up!"

"Understood, sir!"

"Move it!"

17:28 PM (Japan Time)…

"… GROAAAHHHH!"

"GRAAAHHHHH!"

"Uaaahhh!"

"Kyaahhh!"

"Run!"

"Help me!"

"Charge shot!"

"Super Vulcan!"

"Roll Arrow!"

"Shadow Clone!"

"Guooohhh!"

"Gyaaahhhh!"

Tokyo Internet City was pure chaos: countless copies of the "Darkloid" Beast Man were raging around, jumping all over the streets and buildings and self-destroying from time to time while civilians tried to flee the chaos: Blood Shadow, Isaac, Roll, and Shadow Man were some of the Navis sent to put down the attackers: one single attack was enough to delete any copy.

"Plasma Gun!"

"Guooohhh!"

"Sir Omega? I thought you'd be in the Science Labs, sir!"

"I was, but couldn't stay put."

Another Navi joined the fray.

Omega was about one meter and eighty tall.

He wore a red vest over his mainly black body and red armor over his forearms and boots.

Two golden circlets were set around his forearms and on his boots as well.

A blue jewel shaped like an inverted triangle was set on the forehead of his helmet which was emitting a cross-shaped flash.

His eyes' irises were blue and they displayed calm while long blond hair came out from behind him and reached until the floor.

He carried a white gun on his right hand which shot white plasma rounds towards the foes.

"How about the HQ, sir?" Blood Shadow asked.

"Iris and Trill have been doing daily checks in all nooks and crannies and we've found nothing. Also in the satellites we use to get satellite Internet, too…" Omega replied.

"And Boss?"

"Running up the walls again." He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Can't be helped… There was no way of predicting they'd go for such a ploy, sir."

"I know but…"

"Rattles and throttles! It's the Mexican Batamante!" A voice rang out from nowhere in particular.

"Cloud Man." All defenders grumbled.

"Mwah, hah, hah. I prefer to be named "Don Nube"."

"You're no better than a defective mutant."

"Oh yeah?"

"That's what your useless owner was saying on Twitter."

"Huh!? On Twitter!? Twilight – sama said that!?"

"Oh sure. He used an alias, of course, but when he began to rant about "damned kyoudai" and "damned Bruce Wayne wannabe" we knew it was him." Omega dully replied.

"Sheesh." Cloud Man grumbled.

"Well? Do you have the GUTS to go argue with him?"

"Sheesh!"

"Guess none." Roll muttered.

"Grfhgtkdhgtj!" He growled something undecipherable.

"Esperanto, I guess." Isaac sneered.

"Nyaaahhhh!"

"Neko Virus Version 2010.4?"

"This is Manabe. Looks like Neo Gospel had an insider on the staff of the Tokyo Internet City control center and they've managed to hide these things ready to spawn plus tons of backdoors all over the systems. In fact, a new security technician is missing." Manabe reported.

"I see."

"And turns out it was Twilight himself."

"What?"

"Looks like the security staff computer was hacked and his name and photo deleted of the list of wanted criminals. He even used his civilian name and all!" Manabe fumed.

"Heck. Reminds me of how those two managed to hide by working as staff of the Ayanokouji Family." Omega grumbled.

"But nobody recognized him from the news?"

"I can't tell yet but it's possible that someone did but thought it was a lookalike because… You wouldn't expect a criminal who has a worldwide wanted warrant on him would openly join the staff of a business, would you?"

"I see. So that's also why the trails always vanished here. He used his position to create backdoors and secret routes for his underlings to flee to the base undetected."

"Exactly. Problem is also that the staff didn't bother to run a security check or download the latest version of the WANTED list."

"Huff. Laziness also worked in."

"Yes. Because normally criminals don't openly step into government buildings or corporate buildings so they thought the list was pointless… Talk about mistaken assumptions."

"Hmpf! We can be subtle when we want to, too!" Cloud Man tried to brag but didn't have too much confidence.

"Oh, sure! Like giving a prototype weapon to Tesla Magnets was a subtle move." Omega taunted back.

"GHDOGHRFSHA!" He growled something undecipherable again.

"A coded message using the 21st century Enigma machine?" Isaac sneered as he shot at some copies.

"Someone call HAL 9000." Roll joked.

"Hmpf! You get out! I'll show you how it's done!"

"Sheesh! _Don Pájaro_! Don't come bother me!"

"I'll show you what the Mexican Batamante really is! That's me!"

"Swallow Man, huh?" Isaac guessed.

"What's the "Batamante", anyway?" Roll asked

"Vincent, who has a stupid phobia for English names, uses that to refer to "Batman"…" Nelaus sighed.

"So Swallow Man believes to be a Mexican Batman, huh?"

"Yeah. Just because he flies and is buddy-buddy with the self-proclaimed "Number 2 of the United States of Mexico"…"

"Say… Don't you get the impression the number of Beast Men has decreased considerably?" Blood Shadow pointed out.

"Good point. I don't think they've run out of them… How's the evacuation going like?" Omega asked.

"We're managing with the auto-Plug Outs mostly so over 95% of the Navis have been evacuated… Police Navis on other zones also report a decrease in the hostilities but I'm keeping max alert state. It could be a trap to make us lower the guard or the interval needed to spawn and transfer more of them from the control center's computers to here."

"Exactly. Ignore those two clowns who got kicked out of the circus and let's be on our toes. More of them could appear at any second now."

"Roger."

"Tee, heh, heh. So? Liking my newest drama?" A woman's voice suddenly giggled.

"Anaya." All muttered.

"Ah! IQ – sama!" Cloud Man and Swallow Man gasped.

"So, cloudy and birdy? Going to make the Cloudy Birdy Remix?"

"Eh?"

"Hoh, hoh, hoh."

"Laugh while you can. You'll eventually become as decrepit as the queen in _Snow White_." Roll taunted.

"KI~H! HOW DARE YOU, YOU LIL GIRL!"

"I dare, Cinderella's step-mother."

"GHXKGTHFKBA!"

"Ursula, the sea-witch…"

"SHA~H!"

"Huh-oh." Both Darkloids gulped, expecting trouble.

"ENOUGH! GET OUTTA THERE!"

"R-roger, ma'am!"

"I got an update from the control center. They deleted all recent temporary and cache data and got rid of all copies."

"Good. Looks like we can pull out."

"Yes. The backdoors have also been destroyed, too. We're going to deploy a team to work with them and restore settings to normal while raising the alert in case Twilight attempts a similar ploy elsewhere."

"Wouldn't surprise me if the rascal did so. Now I've got to calm down Boss, huff. Hopefully some tea will do." Omega sighed.

"Hopefully there's still stock because Dragon-san can be sloppy with stock control…" Blood Shadow warned.

"Good point. Guess he needs to be reprimanded, too. You go back to your post, this "season" has just begun…"

17:54 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So? Boss?"

"… Hmmm…"

"Boss."

"Hmmm…"

"Boss!"

"Wha! Huh? Ah! It's you, Omega…. Don't startle me!"

"So? We know where they are, we've been wiretapping them… Why don't we strike already? Do we need to pretend that we're chasing dead ends forever?"

"Huff… Well…"

Omega had stepped into a room somewhere to talk to someone.

The room was shaped like a dome: the ground had the general form of the Hikari emblem although the straight line and the pyramid-like bases were placed at the north and south ends instead of being in the north-west and south-east ends like in Netto's bandana.

There were two half-hexagon spots which had been built such that the ground was thirty centimeters lower and covered in a grid-like material.

The corridor was only wide enough for one person to walk through and it had a small hole from which a rail originated around the middle point of it: it extended forward until it reached the spot where the man's armchair (which had a purple Alphabet "V" drawn behind it) was at.

A closed hatch could be seen set on the ceiling directly above this middle spot.

The far end had a control console a group of 3 LCD screens set in a curved manner over the console: the room had some circular LED lights (like the ones in traffic lights) set on the walls forming figures.

The "someone" was sitting in a black metallic armchair which had just turned to face him.

The man sitting on it looked on his mid – twenties, had messy jet black hair and red eye irises.

He wore a grayish armor made of several plates joined together of an unknown material: two swords sheaths were attached to his black belt.

His arms and legs were also covered in plating and he had boots and gloves of the same material.

A purple ragged, stained and torn cape hung from the back of the shoulders and reached all the way to the floor.

He'd been absent-minded looking at the screens and Omega had to raise his voice to get his attention.

"Well?"

"We've been keeping very under wraps, yeah, I admit, but…"

"But what?"

"I can't avoid feeling it's a trap."

"No. It's called "the darkest place is under the candlestick"… They thought we wouldn't expect them to use a location we already knew of. And insofar, by keeping the info to a very few, everyone genuinely express frustration at not knowing where they are at. They've bought it, from what we can hear through the wiretap."

"But we can't hear ALL conversations because the wiretap only can listen to the echoing voices in the central shaft. We take profit that their receiver and emitter are located there too to mingle the wiretap signal amongst them…" The man warned.

"Yeah. Hence why didn't know of their new weapons or today's ploy. But even if we knew in advance we had to act like it caught us with the guard off else they'll quickly realize that we're able to spy into them."

"Speaking of listening, did you make sure that the new sound-absorbing material in the walls works?"

"Of course. Each day."

"Good. Only you, I, Lartes, Kir Osh, and the members of the "Council of Armies" know about this. Despite that the idea that they might be here came from Nelaus and the others we lied saying it was empty."

"What about the "Committee"?"

"I told Mr. Admin but no-one else. He will keep the info until it's needed. Less risk of leaks."

"Fine. There's always the possibility they target an analyst or so and torture them for info… I did warn about that to Chief Lezareno and he warned all other executives." Omega reported.

"Good point. Hadn't thought of that. Wouldn't surprise me, coming from those bastards."

"Just in case I also installed doors on the elevator shaft to avoid voices reaching the lower floor and updated the control interface to require a password key which only you, Lartes and Kir Osh, have. The others need to ask for permission. This way nobody will accidentally come in during an important conversation."

"Yeah. Not like I minded Trill coming here from time to time but he can come in the middle of a conversation without us noticing."

"Exactly."

A buzz rang out and the man headed towards the console and pressed a key with the _kanji_ "ryuu" (dragon) on it.

"What do you need, Dragon? It better be important."

"Hum, Boss… I was checking the warehouse to see stocks like Mr. Omega suggested me to do but…" A man's voice timidly replied.

"We're lacking a lot of ingredients?"

"Eh, no… I found what seems to be a radioactive material capsule…"

"WHAT!?"

"At least it's labelled like that… It's of lead, and it's pretty heavy… It says "U-235" below the label…"

"Uranium!? Here!? How!?"

"I don't think it's a prank by Sigma… I'll go check!"

"Dragon! Did you touch it with bare hands?"

"N-no, I used gloves…"

"Hum. Alright. Just in case don't touch any food."

"R-roger, Boss…"

"Let's see. Hum. It's heavy, yeah. IR gives heat signature from inside, very hot." Omega reported over the interphone.

"How the hell did that get onboard?"

"Maybe last time we got attacked by Twilight or his cronies one of them snuck here? There are no cameras here. Maybe it's a ploy to say we're dangerous because we have processed Uranium? Given how the ploy with that novel thing didn't totally work." Omega suggested.

"Fuck."

"I'm going to do an EVA. Better open this thing in outer space since there's already so much radiation."

"Good idea."

"By the way, Dragon, it's pretty safe to assume that the container was radiation-proof so you're not contaminated but I'll try to get a diagnosis kit just in case."

"Roger, Boss…"

"To begin with… We'll seal those gloves you used into a metal box. I guess you've got many others, no?"

"Of course…"

"Good. How's it going, Omega?"

"I'm at Docking Bay #3. I've begun atmosphere equalization. I'll go out directly without using one of the spaceships… Done. I'll open outer hatch now."

The man inputted some commands and a live feed was displayed in one of the screens which showed Omega floating in outer space while having a black cylindrical container on his hands: he materialized two extensible arms made of data and they stretched putting distance between him and the container: he also formed a frontal barrier as well.

"I'm using my Net Navi body so I should be safe but no-one has ever experimented what happens to materialized Net Navis when exposed to nuclear radiation."

"Good."

The container was opened by the hands at the end of the extensible hands by opening the seals and turning the upper half anti-clockwise: he slowly pulled up the cover to expose a cylindrical reddish mass which was burning hot.

"That's not… Uranium? It's…molten metal which has solidified into cylinder form?"

"Molten metal? Hmmm…"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. Did you enjoy THE FEAR?" A voice suddenly burst into the radio exchange.

"Fuck. Liquid."

"Snake! Did you like my sunglasses?" The opponent sneered.

"Hmpf. The Liquid that puts Liquid to shame." Omega taunted.

"Grrrr! I'll send Siegfried from _Wild Arms_ to cut your necks!"

"We're so scared. We'll kick him into another dimension."

"So you sent one of your men to sneak this here last time and give us a fright, huh? Or is that a message saying you'll shoot a nuke against us like how Liquid wanted to do against J.D.?"

"Hmpf! Vader! Your grave is waiting for you in Korriban!"

"Hmpf! Sidious! How about you die already? The Korriban ghosts are waiting for you!"

"This was but an appetizer! The main dish is yet to come!"

"Come anytime. I'll use Jeet Kee Duno to beat you to a pulp."

"Hmpf! Before that my weapons will wipe you off the Earth! Vadous!"

"Before that you'll have to get past the extraterrestrial, Twilight."

There was a grumble and the jacking in the line faded: Vadous fumed while Omega also grumbled.

"Damned rascal. Yeah, we should hurry the preparation for the raid."

"Sure, Boss. We lure them out and then… Hmpf. It'll be all over…"


	3. Chapter 3: Influences

**Chapter 3: Influences**

10:45 AM (Japan Time), Saturday April the 7th…

"… Phew! Why do I get the feeling that luggage retrieval time is longer with each trip?"

"Maybe it's the impatience, Charles."

"Good point, Martin… The Digital Snatcher!"

"Sheesh."

"Mr. Analog Snatcher lacks a flying bike."

"Heh! Sure thin'…"

Two guys were chatting with their Navis as they emerged from the luggage retrieval area of an airport somewhere into the arrivals hall.

Both were on their 20s and were more or less of the same height, around a meter and eighty.

"Charles, the Analog Snatcher, back in the _Otaku_ Kingdom! Kidding. Back in Japan, I mean."

Charles had messy silver hair which spread slightly backwards and formed some spikes: his eyes' irises were blue.

His clothes consisted on a navy blue overcoat which had a central silver button about the waist.

His coat then opened to expose his legs although it covered the rear of them.

He wore a black shirt beneath the overcoat plus black fingerless gloves on his hands: he also sported black jeans and sneakers.

The right shoulder contained blackish armor with an orange-colored edge and a silver button right over it which seemed to help it be gripped to the shoulder: three circles were then drawn on his right sleeve before a triangular piece of armor expanded over the hand: its main body was black too and it had orange edges.

His PET was colored silver and brown and had an emblem: it was a perfect golden-colored cross which was drawn inside of a silver circle having a brownish edge.

"Sheesh. Don't say it aloud." The other scolded in a hush.

"So, Martin? Did you find some crunchy memes?"

"Of course not."

The other guy, Marti, looked around a bit younger than Charles by one or two years and shorter by about 4 to 5 centimeters.

He had unkempt reddish hair and brown eye irises which currently depicted slight annoyance.

He sported a golden-colored sleeveless vest which was open and he had a black t-shirt underneath it

He also wore blue jeans with a modern-looking double-row belt.

He had an arm strap for a Link PET on his right arm: the Link PET was colored in camouflage colors.

"For memes and tropes we've already got shining glasses."

"Classical, Dave."

"Davis, Charlie~…"

Charles' Navi, Davis, was projecting from the PET and stretching his arms upwards and backwards.

Davis, his Navi, had a deep brown bodysuit.

His eyes' irises were chestnut brown and his face seemed to be shaped after a man on his early 20s: he currently displayed some slight amusement.

His helmet's color of choice was red: and so were both of his boots and his forearms.

The helmet had the _kanji_ for "seigi" or "justice" written in a golden coloring vertically across his forehead's height.

He seemed to wear a vest over his chest armor colored silver: this vest had bronze edges: it also had the Alphabet character "D" colored golden set on each side of its body.

His arms contained four thin brownish stripes running down the north, south, west and east side of them until they drew four circles on the wrist. His forearms had extra armor over it colored in a grayish color plus a small red dome inside of each palm.

The legs' length had been designed to include a network of patterns interconnected by some nodes which were reminiscent of human nerves: the boots' front edge was shaped like a triangle and so was the heel: they apparently served as close-quarters combat weapons.

"Speaking of which, I've barely ever seen you use those." Martin commented to Davis.

"They're not that practical. And even less against those armored rascals so… Meh."

"Heh! I'll send a bulky armor after 'em!"

"Bulky armor? Whom or what do you mean, Lander?"

Lander wore a Mexican-style hat over his brown dust – colored helmet which also had some random blue and black dots scattered around it: his eyes' irises were brown.

His main body was colored navy blue and he had an open blackish vest over the torso: he exhibited a _Sheriff_ 's star on the right side of his torso which glowed.

His shoulders were anatomically correct and they had brass plating.

The arms' length and the elbows were colored brown too and his forearms were green with two orange circling bands on them: his wrists had metallic bracelets on them.

He sported a black leather belt with two Colt revolvers on it along with bullets on his waist.

His legs were also colored brown.

He had jeans over them which ended at the start of his boots.

The boots were colored black: they had blue and brown dots across them.

"The Black Knight from _Fire Emblem_!"

"Oh, that guy. Yeah, I know I was playing _Blue Flames Path_ for the GameCube the other day…"

"Oho. We've got chauffeurs."

"Sheesh. It's Ijuuin and Laika, come to pick us up as usual."

"Welcome back, Morgangantz."

"Thanks, Ijuuin."

"Same, Blackdesu."

"Thanks, Laika."

Charles shook hands with Ijuuin Enzan who was waiting amongst the people in the arrivals hall while Martin did so with Laika: Blues and Search Man also shook hands respectively with Davis and Lander.

"I've got the car waiting." Enzan told them.

"As expected."

"And the Asahi beer." Laika smirked.

"Sheesh. We're minors, as you well know, Mr. Foreign Serviceman." Enzan directed a dull and unimpressed glare at him.

"But they aren't so…" Laika shrugged.

"Sheesh. Loopholes-man."

"I feel flattered."

Both Blues and Search Man sighed as if they were too used to these odd exchanges between their Operators.

"Let's go!" Enzan fumed as he headed out.

"Of course, Mr. VIP."

"Hmpf!"

"Laika… Why do you have this need to make fun of Ijuuin in public the whole time?" Charles sighed.

"When a _tsundere_ tags with another _tsundere…_ It's fun to see how much we can pretend we don't need anyone's help."

"Doesn't sound too convincing to me, though…"

"Don't worry. I've got things under control!"

"Sheesh. Just lead us to the limo."

"Of course."

The trio exited the arrivals hall and headed for a lane reserved for VIPs in the main road: they climbed into the IPC limo with Charles and Martin on the right side and Enzan and Laika on the left side: the limo started while Charles barely held back a yawn.

"Jet lag, man. Sheesh. Now's when I wished to use Dimensional Converters for instant travel like the Neo Gospel jerks."

"Can't be helped. It was an official mission, not an infiltration mission. So we had to travel by conventional means."

"Or give us first class seats, sheesh."

"I think first class is overrated myself."

"IPC's carters aren't first class either but…" Enzan shrugged.

"Meh. Caprices of life."

"Anyway. What was that mission in Dakota about?"

"Louisville. Not Dakota."

"Sheesh. Alright."

"Did you wish to find your lost golden tooth?"

"Huh!? What golden tooth? Laika! Don't make out stuff outta the blue! Ameroupe is so wide, I mix up the locations!" Enzan grumbled.

"Anyway! Well, as you can imagine, it was about the Neo Gospel rascals… We'd been wondering exactly how they got their money, we did have a rough idea but now we've managed to figure out in detail how they operate…" Charles began explaining.

"Drugs, right?"

"Exactly."

"Where do they get them from? California?"

"Oh no. Mexico drug clans."

"So that's where that Vincent lunatic comes in."

"Precisely, my dear Watson." Charles blinked him the right eye.

"Sheesh. Save me the Holmes jokes."

"Maybe you prefer the Conan jokes?"

"Huff. So?"

"Things are like this… They use Vincent and his ability to disguise to have him impersonate clan members or informants and "leak" info of a cache hold by some clan to several clans… They all rush there and begin killing each other for control of it… And in the meanwhile Zoan Gate Man steals the drugs with his "Remote Gate"…" Charles resumed explaining.

"I see. And with that tactic they also reduce strength of the clans leaving them weakened…"

"And then they bring the drugs to Ameroupe and repeat the same tactic so that the clans and orgs there fight each other for them… The survivor of the carnage is given monopoly of them but the drugs are sold to them at a very high price… And when the seller gains a large income… They come raid them and steal it…"

"I see. So they don't have enough with the money of selling it to a distributor, they want the profits because they know the distributor will increase the price per kilogram to compensate for all the money they had to pay in the buying…" Laika concluded.

"Yeah. And that's their main source of money, apart from being involved in illegal gay and lesbian BDSM clubs…"

"We actually stumbled upon them in a warehouse… Yamato Man was also there and we had a clash… They didn't use the new weapons yet, either of them…" Davis reported.

"Any new tactics?"

"Not really… Zoan Gate Man warping and trying to attack from the rear, as usual… And Yamato Man still using a spear… Although he would sometimes put distance and throw javelins at us…"

"Maybe he was looking up to _Fire Emblem_?"

"Somehow, that wouldn't surprise me."

"In terms of happenings… Twilight left a capsule with molten metal on the Subspace HQ but making it look like it was U-235…" Enzan reported.

"Devil." Charles cursed.

"Problem is if that we're unsure how to interpret it… A decoy or are they desperate enough to steal nukes and use them?"

"We're keeping it under wraps, obviously enough, but… The rascals have begun to spread rumors and circulate fake press releases from the IAEA to try to smear them…" Laika added.

"That part must be an idea by Opoulos… Using his FBI connections. A couple executives got arrested because they were found to be cooperating with Opoulos but they suspect there might be other cronies in other agencies…" Martin deduced.

"Obviously."

"Insofar we're all equipped with the "Monolith" and set to warp the weapons' energy release into mid-air where it quickly dissipates… They must know that, too, so maybe they'll find a way to stop us from doing so… So we can't count on it as a trump card either." Blues explained to the others.

"Anaya keeps on hacking the girls' PETs to taunt them… All save that annoying gal are ignoring her but…"

"Sheesh. Can't something be done about her?"

"Apparently many teachers have warned her that if she keeps on throwing random accusations and such they'll report her to the head teacher. So now she behaves a bit better but… Huff. It's like a bone on the throat, she's too stubborn for her own sake. Now she calls me "the egg from the wild"…" Enzan rolled his eyes.

"Egg from the wild? Oh come on. Sounds like a name for an item in some RPG… So stupid." Martin sighed.

"I know. Gals. I was never taught how to deal with them."

"So? You busted their plots in Louisville, I take it?" Search Man asked Davis.

"Of course. They ran for it and the police took care of securing the place. Now that we know their _modus operandi_ it should be easier to figure out if they've re-started their "business" elsewhere."

"They won't give up on the money so easily, of course, but at least that hinders their plans."

"Huh? Wha!" Martin suddenly gasped after checking something with his PET.

"What's wrong?"

"The rascals! They're bored so they're spamming bots in Twitter that say "Neo Gospel Forever" in almost all languages in the world!" Martin grumbled.

"Oh come on. They sure are BORED." Charles sighed.

"Or maybe that's what they want us to think." Search Man warned.

"… Good point. It could be one of their psychological warfare tactics. Maybe an idea by Opoulos, as well."

"They're spamming in WhatsApp, Facebook and Telegram and so on! LINE as well! And they've begun some stupid meme too!"

"What?"

"NG = Neo Gospel. NG Comments = Neo Gospel Comments. Neo Gospel Controls You, Not Sharo!" Martin quoted.

"Sheesh."

"Shit. Now they're making bots that quote Vincent's idiotic endless tongue-twisters and all the nonsense he tells people over the phone starting with his stupid "protocol 6.6/6"!" Enzan growled as he checked the info on his PET's holographic display.

"Maybe they're making themselves look like nerds or idiots so that people take them lightly but then they deliver a blow that leaves everyone terrified… Like in London…"

"Good point."

"What the hell is this? "I'm the egg of the wild, your PET has the "Noah Virus"! Humanity is doomed!"…"

"Noah Virus? That rings a bell somewhere… I'll do a check to locate the source…" Blues muttered.

"Noah out of all names, huh?"

"Wait… Noah Virus? Hmmm…" Enzan seemed to recognize it.

"Found it, sir. "Metal Max" game series. The AI "Noah" created to try to find a solution to environmental problems went berserk and infected machines with a "Human Erasure Program" turning all machines and robots against humans… Feels like Terminator's "Skynet"… It triggered a "great destruction" that collapsed most of civilization…" Blues reported as he read the info.

"So that was it! I was playing _Metal Max 2: Mod_ the other day since I'd found it at a second-hand store and looked interesting…"

"Sheesh. Now they send us a challenge." Charles grumbled.

"Yeah. It's so stupid." Laika grumbled.

"What, what? Wha!? "The Cowboy – Fugitive Duo and the Capitalist – Communist Duo will come dance the ring dance when the protocol 6.6/6 is activated!"… Sheesh!" Lander grumbled as he read it.

"Who's the fugitive…?" Davis groaned, annoyed.

"Enzan – kun, Laika – kun. They've sent a threat email." Superintendent Manabe warned them.

"What is it?"

"They're challenging you guys to come fight them in Internet City in an hour's time, else they say they will "bomb Internet City to the foundations"…"

"Sheesh. We have no other choice. But then again we were itching to bust them. Fine." Enzan grumbled.

"Understood, ma'am."

"Good. Incidentally, Prism Man got the notice which was delivered by what looked like a parody made by mixing in Blues' and Search Man's colors and some traits."

"HMPF!" Both Navis fumed.

"Did they specify a location? I assume they mean the Densan Internet City but we don't have a specific location?"

"No. The note does say Densan Internet City, though."

"Knowing them they'll appear out of the blue hoping for a surprise attack but we won't make it easy." Laika rubbed his chin.

"Just in case Omega will be in standby."

"We will as well."

"Ah! Morgangantz – kun and Blackdesu – kun, you're back. Good. The more firepower, the better. We've also keeping guard up in the Science Labs and here." Manabe addressed them.

"Excellent. We'll send you the last part of the report after we deal with those rascals."

"Roger. Good luck."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"They're starting to delete the bots and spam but now Cloud Man made an account named "Don Nube of Mexico" and is quoting all of Vincent's idiocies while adding skull and crossbones icons at the end of each message." Davis sighed, fed up.

"The sanity shelter wasn't that bad of an idea after all." Charles drily muttered.

"Yeah. To run away from the madness…"

"Sheesh. This city feels like it's cursed." Lander grumbled.

"You needn't tell me." Enzan rolled his eyes.

"Now, now. Let's have some sneaky sneak." Laika grinned.

"The hell is that…?" Enzan was far from amused.

"That new energy drink IPC is developing to compete with other brands, wasn't it? Mr. Vice-President."

"Stop making stuff outta the blue, Mr. Green!"

"I understand that you wanted to lift the mood, Laika, but you needn't overdo it either." Charles scolded.

"Alright, alright. Now let's go over the data and ready a strategy. They need a surprise."

"Yeah. Let's do so."

11:39 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Mwah, hah, hah. We're waiting for you, R&G duo…"

"You'll become spatial dust… Heh, heh, heh…"

Cloud Man and Cosmo Man were standing atop a tall building in the Densan Internet City.

Both had a new appearance.

This appearance consisted on armor all over the body.

The armor included a full-head helmet with grayish patterns on it and one which formed the shape of a mouth: a nose-shaped form had also been included and it had two small slits for the eyes, which were yellow and lacked any irises.

The helmet's forehead had a Net Navi emblem on it as if to ID them in another manner that wasn't their own voice.

The shoulders and neck area had some red lines drawn on them: the chest armor had two large empty cavities set on each side of the chest.

A white ragged and worn cloth stretched from the waist downwards but it seemed to be purely decorative.

The arms and legs were covered in sturdy and thick black armor.

He sported a large red cloak stretching behind him from the shoulder armor and until the knees' height.

The boots were colored crimson red.

As a weapon they each held a red-bladed sword with a black hilt.

"Hm?"

"What's wrong, Cosmo Man?"

"I felt like something stuck to my back… Some new type of micro-Virus?"

"Looks like it. Is shaped like a flea about… 5cm wide?"

Cosmo Man suddenly seemed to notice something as he looked over his right shoulder and Cloud Man flung the cloak asides with the right hand as he crouched to check what had gotten attached to his back which was a flea about 5cm wide.

"How odd. But it felt like it flew across the air and hit me."

The "flea" suddenly detonated, startling them, and then a green grenade dropped on their feet: it detonated, too, causing a blinding flash and deafening roar.

"Groah! Flash-bang! Sensory overload!" Cloud Man groaned

"Reset the input sensors!" Cosmo Man ordered.

"Scope Gun!"

"Sonic Boom!"

"Ugoh!"

"Grah!"

Search Man and Blues used the window caused by the flash-bang to attack each one: Search Man hit Cosmo Man's neck and he recoiled from the hit while Blues shot a Sonic Boom at Cloud Man which hit his chest and pushed him backwards too.

"That's unfair!" Cloud Man growled.

"You mice!" Cloud Man growled next.

"Nobody is obliged to play fair with scoundrels like you."

"Same."

"Sheesh!" Both fumed.

The two of them jumped into an adjacent building's roof with a wider surface: Search Man kept his distance while Blues jumped there as Cloud Man yielded the sword and clashed against Blues' Variable Sword: Cosmo Man opened his "Cosmo Gate" and threw the planetoids at Search Man but he deployed several "Satellite Ray" to shoot them and destroy them: Search Man calmly kept his aim steady and began shooting a barrage of shots at Cosmo Man who tried to deflect them with his blade and by jumping around the roof.

"You can't overcome the power of the "Dark Side"!"

"I don't need to overcome it."

"Sheesh."

"Hmpf! Blues! You got a new title!"

"Like I care."

"Hmpf! "Bluces", that's what you are!"

"Quoting a lunatic makes you stronger?" Blues drily shot back.

"Grrrr! Destroy Thunder!"

"Hmpf. New moves? Like that'll help you win."

Blues quickly jumped back as a thunderbolt fell down where he'd been at and Cloud Man swung the sword but missed and the impulse of it moved him forward making him lose balance and drop into the floor: Blues merely put distance and jumped away as yet another thunderbolt fell where he'd been at: Cloud Man used the sword to get back on his feet and made more thunderbolts fall in a sequence: Blues calmly timed his jumps and shot his Sonic Booms when needed: Cosmo Man was shooting his projectiles at Search Man but he simply jumped to dodge or shot them to intercept them.

"Hmmm? Ah! Damn!" Cosmo Man noticed something.

"What?" Cloud Man asked.

He looked to the right and they both growled under their breaths when they saw a big TV screen on the façade of a building which was transmitting their battle in live with the subtitle "Net Police VS Neo Gospel".

"Damn it." He growled next.

"Didn't you want attention? There you have it. Along with your pathetic fighting style which will must be laughed at by now in all social media. You used them to make fun of us, we'll do the same." Enzan taunted over his Operator screen.

"As always you take the opponent too lightly."

"You idiots!" Someone growled over the Darkloids' radios.

"Guoh! Commander Freeze Man!" Both gasped.

"Do something useful! Enough circus! Bring out the new weapons!"

"R-roger, sir!"

"Hmpf. Finally coming, huh?"

"About time."

Both Darkloids sheathed their blades and brought out the grenades that Magnet Man had used the other day: they took out the safety pins and threw them into the air while they formed electromagnetic barriers around their bodies: Blues and Search Man did the same and the grenades detonated but instead of the effect that the grenade by Magnet Man did they acted like normal flash-bang grenades.

"Guah!"

"Ack!"

"You fell for it! Here's the real one! Delete~!"

"Hmpf! Return to nothingness! Delete~!"

They then threw two identical grenades which did behave in the same way that Magnet Man's grenade did but the difference was that they detonated faster: the two masses of energy combined and expanded deleting everything on their path, engulfing Blues and Search Man: both laughed.

"We did it!"

"That's called a "flag"." A voice rang out.

"Huh!? Damn! Omega!"

Omega suddenly appeared behind them having a green energy pyramidal saber with a rectangular hilt gripped with both hands: both drew their swords again but, suddenly, a shot hit Cosmo Man's head from behind, bouncing off the helmet, while a Sonic Boom hit Cloud Man's back: both gasped as Blues and Search Man dropped from above.

"What!? How!?"

"A magician never reveals his tricks." Both drily replied.

"I knew it." Freeze Man grumbled.

Both gulped as if they expected Freeze Man to punish them.

"Whatever the ever. Shake them off and come back to the base! You need a lesson on discipline!" He growled.

"R-roger, sir! We'll remember this!"

Both jumped off the roof into a "Remote Gate" that formed mid-air and which was open: it closed as soon as they got in and vanished so the trio sighed in relief.

"It was a good idea to install a "kawarimi" program so that when the attack hit us we'd instantly warp when the attack hit us… That of the flash-bang was unexpected, though. We must be careful. We also got confident as well." Blues sighed in relief.

"Yeah… Let's send this battle data to everyone."

"At least we managed to turn around their ploy of using the social media to mock us." Omega pointed out.

"Sneaky Liquid! Thought I'd gotten a hold of his tail today through keeping an eye in Melbourne but it was a dead end!" Vadous growled over Omega's radio.

"Speaking of which… What about Darth Bapgei?" Enzan asked.

"The "Committee" keeps an eye from distance but he obviously doesn't know the base's location since they warp him there… The guys know we're keeping an eye on him so, as always, they assign the guy a Darkloid to distract us whenever he has to go to their base…" Omega explained to them with a sigh.

"So we're stuck. As always."

"Yeah. Last month alone we busted 18 locations. All were dead ends all across the world. Mostly were apartment buildings. Because if they keep the Darkloids in the Cyber World they only need room for 3 humans. So it's not unthinkable. But they were all empty flats the registers of which had been manipulated to make it seem several proxy companies operated by them owned them and they were renting them…"

"When your opponent includes a man who was in the FBI for almost 30 years you know you won't have it easy."

"But it's a matter of time. They'll eventually make a mistake… And we'll corner them. My word!"

All Navis nodded in agreement and their eyes burned with resolve…


	4. Chapter 4: Fun

**Chapter 4: Fun**

11:11 AM (Japan Time), Sunday April the 8th…

"… And then I invented the astronomically flipping switch!"

"Let me guess! A Super Ultra Rare Chip!"

"Nope! Pure randomness! Tee, heh, heh!"

"Huh!? Oh come on!"

"Dekao… After all these years you should know that when Yaito says weird names they're mostly randomness that doesn't mean anything…"

"Dekao – kun, you look like a disciple of Higure – san…"

"Huh? Of Higure-san? No! I'm the disciple of the WWW!"

"The Wara-Wara-Wara, in short, the LOL!"

"Sheesh!"

"Oh boy."

"She's always been like this, Sakurai?"

"Oh yeah, Tamashita. Always."

"By the way, Meiru – chan and Aura – chan… You've yet to tell me the secret recipe!"

"What secret recipe?"

Netto, Saito, Sakurai Meiru, Ooyama Dekao, Hikawa Tooru, Nelaus and another girl were sitting in the sofas of Ayanokouji Yaito's mansion treehouse as she went on making silly jokes.

The other girl, Tamashita Aura, had orange curly hair and blue eyes.

She sported a yellow raincoat, jeans and sneakers.

Her Link PET's emblem was a stylized "F" letter colored white and black and set against a blue background which was decorated with snow drops: the PET itself was white.

"You know." Yaito grinned.

"… Lame." Both sighed in exasperation.

"What? A secret recipe for the broiled eels?" Dekao asked.

"No." Both directed dull glares at Yaito.

"How about cha, Roll – chan and Felicia – chan?"

"Like we'd know."

"Are you intending to humiliate us or WHAT?"

Roll also got annoyed along with Tamashita's Navi, named Felicia.

Her helmet was colored olive green and it had a sapphire set into its forehead which glowed differently depending on the light's angle: the helmet included a cobalt blue matrix over its surface.

Her eyes were cobalt blue as well and two twin tails of blondish hair came out from behind her head.

Her bodysuit's main color was cobalt blue instead and her emblem was the same one as in the PET.

Her shoulders were anatomically correct and had ruby plating over them while her arms and elbow were colored in a mix of blue and white decorated with emerald square dots.

Her forearms were colored orange and had eight thin pink circles circling along their length.

Her legs used a mix of blue and yellow and contained diamond-shaped brown dots scattered at random.

The boots had been painted using orange color and had zigzag patterns which vertically spanned the height of them.

"Who knows? Maybe it's time to call for the special guest, the great hero come back from a fierce campaign in southern frozen lands? Beware and behold!"

"Huh!?"

"Beef!"

"Oh come on! Commander Beef!?"

"Same one! Come back from fighting the harsh frozen dragons!"

"Frozen dragons? What frozen dragons?"

Commander Beef stepped into the treehouse and everyone save for Dekao, Guts Man and Yaito sighed or groaned in annoyance: Commander Beef grinned and boasted.

"Those sneaky and devilish frozen dragons of witchery and trickery and delusion and doom and…!"

"It's all on his head, obviously enough." Shark Man whispered to the Navis inside of the Net Battle machine's Cyber World.

"Obviously." Roll sighed.

"Of course it is. Desu." Ice Man sighed.

"Guts, guts! That's a real man, de guts!"

"You didn't understand anything, did you?" Felicia exasperatedly asked Guts Man.

"Guts?"

"Forget it. Someone upgrade his CPU already."

"…with a harpoon blessed by the Queen of Antarctica…!"

"Yeah, _sure_." Netto muttered with obvious annoyance.

"That's a real man!" Dekao eagerly exclaimed.

"Didn't you listen to what Shark Man said…? It's all a fantasy he made up, you know…" Meiru sighed.

"Huh? Did he say that?" He wondered.

"Cleanse your ears." Meiru fumed.

"One day I'll be the strongest and…!"

"I'm not interested in brutes who spend the day dreaming in vain."

"Wha?"

"And I don't belong to you, never did, never will."

"No, I mean…"

"I'm a person. Not an object."

"O-of course, Meiru – chan! I wasn't saying that…"

"And despite your fantasies brought out of _anime_ , I never had any "attraction" for you."

"Eeeehhhh!?" Dekao turned pale.

"Told you many times. You never listened. Your fault."

"But the other day Miyuki-san said that…!"

"Miyuki-san did?"

"See!"

He displayed an email on his inbox and Meiru frowned: she then seemed to spot something.

"Wait. That email address is odd."

"Odd?" Dekao wondered.

"No way Miyuki-san would name her email account "cowboy corpse"… That's a joke by Cloud Man and Swallow Man. In short: you got trolled. Maybe Anaya made us of those two idiots' parodies to write this email because I don't think those brutes are smart enough to impersonate a fortune teller." Meiru deduced aloud.

"Eeeeehhhhh!?"

"I feel like that new high-school girl detective who's recently appeared in the _Conan_ manga… Sera Masumi – san." Meiru grinned.

"Is she your type?" Yaito asked in a whisper and with a grin indicating mischief.

"No." She drily replied.

"And what if she was?" Tamashita walked over to where Meiru and Yaito were at (the north wall).

"Dunno."

"Then what was the point of the question?"

"Ask someone and no-one."

"Sheesh. Guess your father needs to teach you some lessons again."

"YIKES!"

"I've got nothing against _yuri_ but I don't think you should openly make jokes about it." Meiru sighed.

"Yeah. Agreed."

"Just because you're a couple years younger than us that doesn't mean you've got an excuse to keep on behaving like you had 8 years old. Which you aren't." Meiru scolded next.

"Ah! Such infamy! Such was the curse cast by the frozen dragon Drake into the lands of the Queen!"

"Drake? Yeah, sure." Nelaus grumbled.

"Someone make him leave…" Hikawa groaned.

"… But with the arts of the man of the sea I am…!"

"Then name yourself Commander Salmon…" Netto sarcastically muttered out of annoyance.

"Ah! Such terrific jaws and frozen breath! But nevertheless with the skill of artic wings blessed by the Queen…!"

"And how did he come up with all of that…?" Saito wondered, exasperated.

"I suspect Yaito wrote it and told him to act like he was in a theater play, maybe tricking him believing that doing so would win him the heart of Mariko – sensei…" Netto grumbled.

"Sheesh."

"You didn't see the stupid farce that he and Higure – san did years ago to decide who had the right to gain the love of Mariko – sensei… We were still naïve so that's why we took part on it but…"

"Huff. Really."

"One thing we regret." Saito admitted.

"Problem was that Mariko – sensei suddenly saw him as "cool" because he casually saved a cat from being hit by a car…"

"I see. Problem to begin with is that both he and Higure – san think that she loves them while she herself has no such feelings and just considers neighbors of the city."

"Yeah. The so-called "Platonic love"…"

"Hum! Some young folk here don't know when to stop gloating, it'd seem… Heh, heh, heh…"

"Huh? Dr. Wily? What are YOU doing here?"

"I called for him!"

"Oh come on. What are you up to now?"

Dr. Wily stepped into the tree-house chuckling as he glanced at how Commander Beef kept on making exaggerated and overly-dramatic poses as he acted.

"Hmmm!? Dr. Wily!" Commander Beef suddenly stopped doing what he was doing.

"So? Think you'll get an Oscar for your actuation?"

"I dunno who Oscar is and whatever but you've yet to fulfill your part of the contract!"

"Oh. So you remembered. Heh."

"Contract?" Many wondered.

"Where are the Super Mega Ultra Giga Chips?"

"Maybe in your imagination?"

"What? But you said that…!"

"That I would be your logistical supporter? I said so. But didn't say anything about special Chips."

"But I'm sure that the contract said so!"

"This reeks." Isaac muttered.

"Doesn't at all. Dr. Wily is just toying around with him. Maybe the contract was a paper with no legal validity whatsoever. He likes to make fun of Commander Beef so…" Saito suggested.

"Wait a minute!" Dekao suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Yaito grinned.

"Showdown! Go, Guts Man! Beat Shark Man!"

"Guts, guts, GUTS!"

"Eh? What?"

"Guts Hammer!"

"Whoa!"

Guts Man suddenly jumped towards Shark Man reading his hammers but Shark Man quickly used Area Steal to warp away.

"Hey, I didn't say I agreed!" He complained.

"A man always takes on a showdown!"

"And what if I'm a shark?" He sarcastically shot back.

"Huh… Then… Huh… Hum…" Dekao apparently took it literally.

"Guts, guts? Huh…"

"In terms of appearance, you aren't a "man" either since you're shaped like a gorilla or orangutan." Shark Man pointed out with a sigh.

"Huh? Guts? Huh… Too complicated, de guts…"

"When will someone upgrade his AI…?"

"Never at this rate." Glyde sighed in exasperation.

"B-but that's very expensive!"

"It isn't. It's a public service provided by the Science Labs… Ever since 15 years ago. So you have no excuse there. You could've booked a turn and gone there and had Guts Man upgraded anytime." Netto argued.

"Eeeehhhh!? But every time I looked online…!"

"Those are customizing packs and they're not official. Most of them are "click bait" which have viruses and spyware and ransomware. Meijin – san often tells me about those."

"There were mentions of Science Labs, guts, but Dekao always ignored them saying "real stuff is found by digging!"… Guts."

"D-did I say that?" He turned red.

"Unlike humans, Navis can't get a wrong memory since they directly record what we say."

"I knew it." Meiru sighed.

"You fill your head with _clichés_ and, as a result, you always run into trouble…" Tamashita sighed as well.

"Heh! Impatient young folk." Wily grinned.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

"Here you have."

"Huh? Ah yeah! This is what I signed! Huh? Whoa… So many difficult _kanji_ … Huh? Wait a min… This is Chinese!"

Wily suddenly took out a folded paper from his bag and unfolded it to show it to Commander Beef who gulped when checking it but then realized it was written in Chinese.

"Heh. So you noticed?"

"Of course! There are no _hiragana_ at all! And some _kanji_ are different from the Japanese ones! I can tell the difference, I'm not an analphabet…! Shark Man! Tell me what it says!"

"Roger… Let's see… "I, Commander Masa, hereby admit that I am Masa and that Commander Beef is no more than an attempt to live up to Ultra Man and Bat Man and that everyone figured it out years ago and that I should be selling fish or investigating Neo Gospel instead of wasting time chasing Oozono Mariko – sensei or fighting with Higure Yamitarou like we were a couple of gorillas that are fighting in a war to expand their territories. I swear in the name of Buddha that I will behave properly else divine punishment shall fall upon me. The evil genius scientist here is the witness of this confession and act of faith. Somewhere in Beef Land, April 2nd, 2010."…" Shark Man translated.

"WHAAAATTTTT!?" He was dumbfounded.

"For once, Dr. Wily has a point." Many drily muttered.

"Oho. As expected from the evil genius scientist." Yaito laughed.

"Heh. That's what happens when you underestimate me, Masa…"

"I-I'm not Masa, I'm…"

"Sheesh. Enough farces, Masa – san!"

Netto walked over to him and pulled up the helmet revealing Masa's face: he gulped and nervously looked around as if hoping to find a way out but Wily was standing in the door's threshold and blocking it as if preventing him from running away.

"T-this is… Hum… No, this is…" He began to blurt.

"Like that paper says, we've all known for years. I was a bit slow-witted in not realizing at the time but I eventually did. So there's no need to keep on the farce." Netto grumbled.

"Yaito – sama?" A voice asked over an interphone.

"What is it?"

"Dr. Smith has come." A butler replied.

"Dr. Smith?" She frowned.

"Yes, the gentleman you called for 3 days ago to take care of upgrading the tree-house's computer systems firmware."

"Odd. Did I, Glyde?"

"Yes, Yaito – sama. It's written on your agenda like your father instructed me to do." Glyde displayed the day's agenda.

"Ah, so Papa is the one who called for him but since he was on my agenda the staff thought I called for him. Alright. Show him in, please."

"Acknowledged."

"Well, if there's going to be a firmware upgrade then we better leave since he'll need to shut down everything to do his job." Netto shrugged.

"Feel free to run until your abode of salmon and eel." Wily stepped asides to allow Masa to leave.

Masa quickly grabbed the helmet from Netto's hands and ran off without bothering to retrieve Shark Man or say good-bye: Shark Man sighed and warped out of the Net Battle machine while the others picked their school bags and readied to leave.

"Yaito – sama, Dr. Smith is here." The butler knocked on the door.

"Alright."

"Good afternoon."

"Good… Huh? Eeeehhhh!?"

"Ex-Boss!?"

"No way!"

"The hell! Twilight!"

"Same one! Mwah, hah, hah, hah."

Twilight was a man about a meter and eighty tall who looked on his mid-20s.

His hair was blond and neatly combed yet his eyes' irises were blues: he had a wide smug grin on his face.

He simply wore a black suit, a black necktie, a white shirt, black pants and brown shoes: he looked like your everyday salary-man.

He carried a toolbox on his right hand and a screwdriver on his left hand.

"Huh? Is something the matter?" The butler wondered.

As a response, Twilight suddenly stabbed him on the base of the neck with the screwdriver and a small electrical zap happened: the butler suddenly collapsed into the ground as Twilight stepped in and shut the door behind him: he tossed the tool-box into the ground and it opened revealing a familiar grenade: which he grabbed as Netto and the others pushed the others backwards to put distance between them and Twilight.

"So. Ready for a one-way trip to Hell?" He smirked.

"No way!" Netto gasped.

"You can't be serious!" Nelaus gasped.

"Stop!" Saito gasped, too.

"Heh! You seem to have forgotten that I am beyond normal humans… I'll revive again and AGAIN! And then Neo Gospel will rule the surface world in the name of the grand and almighty IQ – sama! While Her Grace rules the underworld!"

He laughed like a madman as he took out the safety pin and threw the grenade into the air: a blinding flash and a deafening roar ensued…

12:28 PM (Japan Time)…

"... Ugh… Guh…"

"Calm down. It's alright."

"Ugh… Guh… Huh…?"

"Ah! They're finally awakening!"

"Yes. They obviously feel confused and out of place."

"No wonder."

"Uh… Huh… I'm… alive…?"

"Yes, you are."

Netto slowly woke up as he heard a voice and saw an ambulance staff leaning over him.

"Netto! Thank goodness."

"D-dad?"

Yuuichirou was crouching next to him: he began to get a hold of the surroundings and realized he was on a stretcher placed over the grass in Yaito's mansion garden next to the tree where the tree-house was built in: he saw the others were also in stretchers and some had awakened while others were unconscious.

"B-but…"

"You got tricked. It was a flash-bang grenade filled with sleeping gas. Everyone is safe." Yuuichirou told him.

"… I see…"

"They're still in shock state but it's no wonder. They thought they were going to die followed by such a brutal visual and sensitive attack. It won't leave physical sequels but as for mental sequels… We can't know what effects this will have." The staff sighed.

"Yes, sadly enough… How about the butler?"

"He was only knocked out with a Taser-like weapon. Since he was outside the house he wasn't affected by the grenade. But the man who did this must be such a sick man…!"

"You don't know half of it! It's better not to know."

"Yes, indeed…"

"N-nobody's missing…?" Netto asked.

"No. All Navis are here too. They were also attacked from the Cyber World as well but we found traces of a forced access into their memory files… But apart from that nothing else is missing."

"W-what about…?"

"Masa – san? He'd gotten back to his fish-store and began selling so he's safe and sound."

"Stay still. It takes time to recover from such an experience."

"Y-yes, sir…"

"It's obvious that they intended to get the memory data of the Navis so they could figure out or next move or how closer we were to find out their hideouts… And once again they exploited the lack of knowledge and the personality of the staff…"

"What do you mean?"

"The man who attacked them is a wanted man across the world. There are WANTED notices on police stations and official sites. But despite that he wasn't recognized by the butler when he appeared here without any disguise. Also, they faked an email from the owner to make it seem this man had been hired by the owner. It's not their nature to question orders so they didn't bother to check if "Dr. Smith" existed or not." Yuuichirou exposed.

"I see. So that's how they managed to get in!"

"Ah! Commissioner Kifune."

"I heard about the situation by Manabe – kun. Devil. We must be really closing in if they've turned this desperate."

"… Or so they want us to think." Yuuichirou suggested.

"… True."

"This isn't some desperate move. It was planned since 3 days ago. The form in which they did feels like it but it's far from it."

"Good points. Incidentally, we had a patrol car on standby here with two officers keeping watch… Given how Neo Gospel had infiltrated the house's staff before… But they were attacked: a sleeping gas capsule suddenly was thrown inside… Hence why they didn't ring the alarm."

"I see."

"Devil. Can they be so desperate to go to such extremes?"

"They're terrorists. And you know who pulls the strings of them. What they did… And keep on doing."

"Indeed… With such folk roaming loose it's impossible to predict what they'll end up doing."

"Truly. This has been going for too long but then again we aren't perfect or omnipotent…"

"Ah. Chief Lezareno. You came as well."

"I'd stationed a couple of our agents as well on the rear side but they were attacked too…"

Chief Lezareno, was on his forties and appealed to be over a meter and eighty tall.

His hair was blonde and neatly combed his face was clean shaven and he seemed to be calm enough.

He was dressed in a gray trench overcoat, a black sports suit and pants along with brown shoes.

He had sunglasses on, though.

"I see. We both had the right idea to keep an eye on the surroundings but they got defeated easily…"

"Yes. What about the Security Navis?"

"There was a stray cat that got in through a gap in the fence in one corner and all attention was focused there since it was thought it was either a thief or a child who'd come in out of curiosity." Megure explained.

"Maybe they picked the cat from somewhere and let it in knowing that it'd work as a distraction and it wouldn't be unusual."

"We thought the same thing."

"Sheesh. And that sneaky Opoulos popping and vanishing every then and then to provoke us, too. The FBI and CIA are also after his trail but given how he knows how both agencies work in the inside he uses his knowledge to foment rivalries amongst top members. The MI6 are also on the trail and although they handle better Opoulos can still poke there and there to stall their efforts."

"Nobody said it'd be easy but… Definitely Opoulos is the factor that's allowed them to persist…"

"No doubt about that, Commissioner. The man is a sly fox and there's no seizing his tail."

"Just in case we'll bring them to the hospital for further examination although it'll only be a checkup." The ambulance staff announced.

"Alright."

"I'll go there as well. At times like this they need the support of a parent... I already ordered all Science Labs staff to be on max alert as well. Maybe you could send a few agents to reinforce security."

"Of course."

Yuuichirou got into one of the ambulances in which Netto and Saito were loaded into and left with them while the two men sighed.

"Maybe another goal of this attack was to hamper "Cross Fusion" since both Operators and Navis might have sequels and their synchronization might not be as effective and high as always."

"Good point, Chief… At least we have other Navis and "Cross Fusion" users to compensate but… Our potential will be trimmed down indeed. Damned rascals." Kifune hissed.

"Hmm? Excuse me, a phone call…"

Lezareno's flip-phone vibrated and he walked a few steps away to answer to the call.

"Ah. Colonel Talos. Any news?"

"Yes. One of my former subordinates who's now an executive in the FSB told me that "THE man" got a package supposedly from the head of the Navy yet…" A man with a slight foreign accent replied.

"A provocation?"

"Indeed. A real skull with the words "Death to Spies" written on its front using blood… And to top it off the head of the Navy has gone missing so it gives credibility… It's no little secret that the head of the Navy didn't like the cuts to the Navy so… There was also a card saying "What you created will destroy you"… Obviously "THE man" went into a fit of rage and ordered the head of Navy to be caught and sent to a _Gulag_ … Although the FSB already suspect Neo Gospel to be real author with the goal being a deviation of resources… Maybe they're plotting to attack Moscow for all we know. So we should keep an eye discreetly." The man explained.

"I see. They went out of their way this time around but it must be another move by Opoulos. Seeing the style and how it's been planned… They know that "THE man" was after their technology but given how most of the military top brass fell for the deniers' talk they don't give a crap about it thinking it was but a show." Lezareno grumbled.

"Truly. I already warned Mr. Sponsor and he's sent Mr. Omega to do some scouting. It'd seem that Rama will also contribute in checking if there's something hinting at such an attack. I don't want to send large numbers because it might be a distraction and there won't be attack there but there'll be one here."

"Good point. Better keep it small."

"Yes. My contact requested of me but since it's an unofficial request… The less the better. His men are so eager to catch spies that they might screw up something."

"Understood. Please handle it, Colonel. I'll soon head there."

"How are the victims?"

"They're going to undergo further examination in the hospital just in case. But they will have sequels, obviously enough."

"Damned cowards." Talos hissed.

"Indeed. It's about time we put an end to this needless drama and conflict that a single human's madness began…"

 _They're asking for it… You won't be laughing for much longer… This time around it'll be the end for you… Destroyers of the future…!_


	5. Chapter 5: Raid

**Chapter 5: Raid**

02:23 AM (Hawaii Time), Tuesday April the 10th…

"… Sheesh. Broom, broom… That's what my routine's gonna be?"

"You brought that into yourself, moron!"

"Says the bird!"

"Says the cloud!"

"You seem EAGER to BE TORN UP!"

"YIKES!"

"BROOM! SHUT DOWN THE RADIOS!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

"Shaaahhhh!"

"Yamato Man… I think the best thing to do is go patrol the outer perimeter…"

"Good idea, Cosmo Man… Commander looks like he wants to tear someone up…!"

"I-I'll go gather more info…"

Freeze Man was standing in a large, square platform inside of a cylindrical space several tens of meters tall and having water below: a yacht was parked there too while the topmost spot had a large hatch which was closed: other 3 platforms were set in a cross pattern.

Freeze Man also had a body armor like that of Cosmo Man yet his was slightly different.

Within the empty chest cavities, there were large yellow eyes which narrow black irises set there.

He'd hear Cloud Man and Swallow Man argue over the radio so he yelled at them since he was annoyed: with Zoan Gate Man, Yamato Man and Cosmo Man, nearby, rushed away as if fearing they'd be punished as well for the others' idiocies.

"Shaaahhh! I need something to vent off this anger! Next time I'll wreck them to pieces!"

"That's the end for you rascals!"

"Huh!? Damn, they found us!? Battle formation!"

Omega suddenly dropped from above with his sword draw: Freeze Man hissed and issued orders as Blood Shadow and Sigma landed there plus another 3 Navis.

"What! The "Rama" members!"

"Indeed! I am Axe Man!"

Axe Man looked like a medieval knight with azure armor covered in bronze diamond patterns.

Axe Man's azure eye irises were protected by the helmet's protection

He carried a large axe on his right hand and an octahedron shield on his left one adorned with the word "Rama" colored golden.

His legs and arms had sparkling ivory patterns spinning around their surface.

He looked over a meter and eighty tall and his axe emitted an unsettling sparkle of cleanness to it.

His symbol was the _Kanji_ _ono_ or "axe" colored forest green and set against a white-colored background.

"Destruction Man's 'ere to bust!"

Destruction Man looked close to a meter and eighty tall.

Black shades similar to Blues' own design hid his eyes but his mouth denoted seriousness.

A matrix of nine red spots was set on his forehead.

He had a robot-like designed given his metallic blue and silver armor pieces all over his body.

His armor included a belt while his legs had jets attached to them from behind.

His left arm ended in knife-like fingers and his right arm had an incorporated missile launcher on top of the right palm holding up to 10 missiles.

His body had brown-colored energy conduits which seemed to originate from the chest emblem.

His emblem (the _Kanji_ _hakai_ (destruction) colored metallic gray and drawn over an azure background) was set on the center of his armor.

"Gruooh! I'm Durin's Bane! Kidding! Balrog is here! I'm gonna crush you to DUST!"

Balrog looked around two meters tall.

His head was shaped like a demon's with two blackish horns and reddish eye irises as well as sharp teeth: it was protected by a mail around the whole of its volume.

His body was colored red and had black metallic armor with purple diagonal patterns over the surface.

Two small wings with armor over it came out from behind him as well as a tail with a purple flame on it.

His hands and feet ended in sharp claws.

Purple flames surrounded his body.

He was wielding a wrecking ball and a large sharp lance filled with red thorns all over its surface.

His mere presence radiated an intense heat wave.

"Activate, "Dark Generator"! Destroy them!"

"Thousand Spears!"

"Cosmo Gate!"

"Thunder Cross!"

"Swallow Cutter!"

"Gate Cannon!"

"Eat plasma!"

"Charged shotgun shot!"

"Sigma Sword!"

"Axe Thrust!"

"Flame Wrecking Ball!"

"Seeker Missiles!"

Freeze Man made his figure glow purple and a "copy" of his shape made of purplish energy formed and headed for the group but it fell into an invisible hole and vanished: several attacks were exchanged between both parties but neither yielded ground.

"Sheesh. A "monolith" on the ground to warp the anti-matter clone to another spot to make it detonate!"

"Indeed! Eat this!"

"Ugoh!"

"Huh!? What was that!?"

Omega shot a plasma round at Freeze Man and he failed to dodge but when it hit him he suddenly turned into a purplish mirror-like material with his image overlapped over it which then shattered to pieces: same happened to the other "Neo Gospel" members as the other Navis continued their fight.

"… Damn! Fakes!? They saw us coming? Boss!"

"Damn. Looks like it. Rooms are clean and by the amount of dust they've been emptied days ago!"

"Shit."

"Ssssnnnaaakkkeee!" Twilight's voice boomed out of nowhere.

"Damn it! Liquid!"

"Did you think I'd never notice that wiretap? Nice camouflaging! You were cautious, huh? Not even our precious _half-brothers_ knew that you'd found us here, neither did my ex-disciple Nelaus… However! I used the distraction with the fake U-235 to sneak into your abode and rummage your room! And I did find a memo suggesting to make a move soon! Too bad! You were THIS close!" He smugly exposed.

"Damn it all." Vadous cursed.

"Habits can backfire!"

"Speak for yourself!"

"Huh!? What was that!?"

"You keep on mistaking the guy in Utah with the piece of junk." Vadous pointed out.

"SHEESH!"

"Eye for an eye!"

"Why this rascal!"

"Hmpf! Mere little tricks…" Axe Man wasn't too impressed.

"This _aho_ won't learn!" Destruction Man smirked and spoke with Kansai dialect.

"Gruoohhh! I cast a curse on your bones!" Balrog taunted.

"Sheesh! Shut up, Doma leftovers! I'm the one who'll cut off that damned Dartz's neck!"

"Speak for yourself. "Secret Empire" leftover. Go lick your megalomaniac mistress' shoes."

"GHFKDHBTKHFN!" He growled something undecipherable.

"He's not in the building, obviously enough. I guess he's using a remote connection to control the PA system." Omega had entered what seemed to be a control room set on the northern wall of the cylinder and was checking the control panels there.

"Whatever. I did have the feeling it wouldn't go easy. I'll assume responsibility for this blunder." Vadous sighed.

"We're not perfect." Axe Man shrugged.

"Good point. Let's set Viruses as sentries to keep an eye in case they intend to come back as soon as we leave." Vadous suggested.

"Good idea, Boss. We should take turns coming check the place." Sigma agreed.

"We can take care of that." Balrog offered.

"Perfect."

"Let's pull out, guys. Nothing else to do here. Damned Liquid. But you can't escape forever!"

23:23 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Sorry for the delay, my men. Twilight was trying to hack into my master's school intranet and I had to give his pawns a lesson. The fool won't learn."

"Guooohhh! Obviously won't. Rascal!"

"Calm down, Balrog! We're in presence of Annihilator Man – sama."

"Huff. So… What's the next step, Boss?"

The 3 "Rama" Navis had gathered inside of a warehouse in the Cyber World where a 4th Navi named Annihilator Man was also present.

Annihilator Man's face was colored in a teal brown color and his eyes' irises were a mix of purple and black.

His helmet's forehead had an eight-pointed black and white jewel set on it: three purple stripes travelled from behind to the front.

The Navi was colored white with some black spiral patterns travelling up the arms and legs.

He had two gun-like objects colored black and white respectively and connected to something on his back by thick tubes.

His hands had purple octahedron-shaped patterns on top of them.

His emblem was the _Kanji_ _hametsu_ (annihilation) colored white and set against a gray background plus having a purplish edge.

His feet's fingers ended in claw-like extensions.

He seemed to be close to two meters tall.

"I agree with Vadous' idea. You guys will rotate and every day one of you will do check up with the Viruses and do a sweep of the place. They might plant red herrings to make us believe they intend to come back to that hideout so be careful there." He ordered.

"Roger!"

"Greetings, Reclaimers."

"Spark? What are you doing here? Weren't you with _him_?"

"Ah, yes, yes. I was but I was looking for you to deliver a message."

The Monitor Guilty Spark 343 from the _Halo_ games suddenly floated into the meeting while humming the usual tune, surprising the quartet: Annihilator Man began to ask him why he was there.

"That Reclaimer, Twilight…"

"Tried to break in?"

"Indeed."

"When was that?"

"7 minutes ago."

"Did he try using anti-matter "clones"?"

"Exactly. But thanks to the powerful barriers it was in vain. He tried another two times but did not manage to break through the first of the 10 levels of barriers."

"10 levels!" Axe Man was surprised, for once.

"Obviously, man. The _Danna_ gotta be fed up with that rascal trying to break in and steal his data, man." Destruction Man wasn't too surprised by the scale of the defenses.

"Guuuooohhh… Next time I'll wreck the guy!"

"Don't get cocky, Balrog! Don't forget what happened not too long ago when you took them lightly." He scolded.

"Huh! Y-yes sir!"

"Axe Man! Don't behave like you're perfect either. I know that trend of yours all too much."

"Roger, sir. I apologize, sir."

"I know you haven't said anything, Destruction Man, but I'll insist. Don't take them lightly. Last time you taught them a lesson but this time they might pull some cowardly trick. Always be on the watch-out for the anti-matter "clones"… Understood?"

"Roger, _Danna_."

"Hmmm?"

"What's wrong, Monitor?"

Guilty Spark suddenly loaded up its laser beam and shot it at a pile of wooden crates blowing them up into shards and revealing the Cut Man Brothers who'd been hiding behind them.

"The Cut Man Brothers? What are you doing here? This warehouse is OURS. We have a LICENSE." Annihilator Man questioned with obvious mistrust and annoyance.

"Hmpf! We don't care for licenses and all! Just you wait! We'll beat all those rascals and Gospel will return to its glory!" Jiirou, the eldest of the 5 brothers, exclaimed.

"Including Freeze Man?"

"T-that's not the real Freeze Man – sama, that's a wannabe! Yeah! So we'll beat the guy too!" He suddenly gulped.

"Huh? When did you figure that out?" Saburou asked.

"Last time I checked you said "we'll make him regain his sanity"…" Shirou pointed out.

"Or was it "free him from that jerk's mind control"…?" Gorou muttered aloud, wondering.

"Didn't you make that up here and now?" Rokurou sighed.

"Shut up! I'm in charge!"

"No, you aren't. The Elder is." Saburou rolled his eyes.

"And we'll beat Rock Man, too! To avenge our fallen brother, Tarou! Just you wait!"

"You've been at it for over 5 years and failed over and over again. Besides, even if Rock Man hadn't deleted him then Blues would've eventually. Not like they'd let a mass killer get along with it." Annihilator Man dully pointed out.

"Yeah, we know." The other 4 shrugged.

"Wha~t!? When did you become so dispassionate?" Jiirou asked out of disbelief.

"Years ago."

"Eeeehhhh!?"

"The Elder was right. Humans, unlike Net Navis, don't get repaired or restored. They're lost forever. Bro was going to make a dam break and flood a whole valley, after all. You might argue "orders are orders" and that it was Freeze Man's responsibility but then again we're programmed to loyally obey so…" Saburou shrugged.

"Kuh…! Guh…! Huh…!"

"But it wouldn't change that he's the one who physically did it and without any regret. And it was for no noble cause, it was just plain terrorism with the goal of terrorizing society." Shirou added.

"Damn it! You rascals! Turning my brothers against me… I'll beat you all! Surprise…! Ugaahhh!"

Jiirou hissed and jumped towards Annihilator Man but Guilty Spark silently had loaded another round of laser and shot the beam at his chest knocking him out of the air and making him fall face-up on the ground, skidding a few centimeters: the wound was very superficial nevertheless so the other brothers weren't too surprised.

"I am afraid you are not acting rationally, Reclaimer." Guilty Spark pointed out.

"Why this damned ball!"

"Vexation!"

"How do you plan on beating the 4 of us alone to begin with, huh? We have far more pressing matters to take care of than you and your pointless "revenge" which your brothers have given up on since they are more rational than you." Annihilator Man grumbled.

"Guts! Guts can overcome anything!"

"Tell that to Guts Man." Balrog muttered with some annoyance.

"Why the gorilla…! I'll beat the guy first! Those wannabes come next! Just you wait!"

"Fine. Want a quick death, go ahead. We won't stop you. Maybe that way you'll go meet with your brother in the Beyond who'll tell you that this whole "revenge" thing was pointless to begin with."

"Eeeehhh!?" Jiirou turned white.

"Meeting is over. Return to your posts and keep all eyes open. Omega is sweeping the place tonight so shifts will begin tomorrow. I'll organize them with him and contact you when it's established." Annihilator Man addressed his men.

"Roger, sir."

The four of them left with Guilty Spark as well: Jiirou grumbled and managed to get to his feet before he turned and directed a face filled with hatred at his brothers who were hardly surprised.

"You cowards!"

"Say what you want." They all shrugged.

"You won't learn, will you? Jiirou."

"Huh!? Elder!"

The elder Cut Man appeared while sighing and looking resigned at Jiirou's behavior.

"Let's go back home. You need some lessons. You're supposed to lead your brothers and instead they lead you. They've learnt the lesson, but have you? No. Instead of contributing like the others you only think of pointless things." He scolded.

"I-it's those guys' fault!"

"Blaming others won't solve things."

He pulled his right ear and warped away with him in tow: the remaining brothers shrugged and left as well: the warehouse became empty but then some Mettools with purple numbers on their helmets popped out from behind some crates.

"Metto~…"

"Heh, heh, heh… Good work!"

Zoan Gate Man stepped out of one of his "Remote Gates" and chuckled while rubbing his hands.

"Mr. Jade's insight never fails indeed! Let's go, we must report this! Heh, heh, heh… We won't make it easy for you… Neo Gospel forever!"

"Metto~!"

23:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Huff. Talk about a wasted trip."

"Can't be helped. They got us there."

"I know we're not perfect but… We were THIS close!"

"No use crying over spilled milk. Did you make sure the audio and video outputs are off?"

"Of course. I double-checked."

"Good. We don't want to wake them up."

Sigma and Blood Shadow were talking inside of the Hikari brothers' PC Cyber World: Sigma was sighing and was in low spirits while Blood Shadow remained calm.

"They won't like the news."

"Obviously."

"I'm worried that their irritation will increase. Ever since that of the other day with the grenade they're constantly irritated at everything and everyone… That gal in the school only further increases it with her stupid attempts to loophole her aunt's and the teachers' orders to behave and stop acting like a paranoid." Sigma grumbled.

He formed a stone armchair and lazily sat there while tossing his sword to the ground: he stretched and groaned while Blood Shadow silently formed a wooden chair and sat on it while checking the underside of his right arm's shotgun.

"Is something worrying you?" Sigma asked.

"… Heh… Guess I can't pretend I'm calm and rational 100% of the time, huh? Then again we've been sticking around for so long, we can tell each other's' moods by body language…" He sighed.

He pressed his index and middle fingers against a button on the underside of the shotgun near the elbow: it made a CLACK sound and he slowly pulled it out from his right arm before leaving it on the ground: he articulated the right wrist and the forearm.

"Huff. Needed some exercising of this arm, else my reflexes dull."

"No wonder… Sigh. Almost 3 years, huh… Who'd said the battle with those rascals would extend so much time…?"

"Yeah. Hard to believe time flies by so quickly… There have been periods in which they haven't been so active or other gangs overshadowed them but nevertheless… Those two years of peace feel SO LONG AGO… I miss them. There's a saying… "Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true"…"

"Heh… So true, man… We wished for action and we got too much of it, even… To the point it makes those two years of peace a bliss… The more time this goes on, the lower the morale gets…"

"It's inevitable. Real-world wars and conflicts also prolong for years no matter how many resources nations might have at hand… Because there always many facets under the surface…"

Blood Shadow grabbed his helmet with both hands and pulled it up to take it out, sighing.

His hair was reddish and messy, not unlike Netto's, while his eyes irises were a mix of red and golden.

"Maybe that's also why I tend to make pranks and all, to get rid of so much tension…"

"Hey. Yours are bearable. Unlike Vincent's."

"Huff. You needn't tell me. Were the guy not good at disguises and useful for the rascals he'd been locked up in a madhouse YEARS ago. There's no healing the guy, man."

"There isn't, no. He'd been kicked to the streets years ago, too, were it not for his "buddies" who keep on altering records to make him look like a VIP and that he mustn't be touched… Huff. Then again Mexico is plagued with a lot of problems and that idiot is the least of them."

"Of course."

"Everything OK, guys…?" Vadous asked over the radio.

"You sound tired, Boss." Sigma pointed out.

"Of course… I was so tense I barely slept last night. Now all the weariness is making me feel like I'm about to collapse…"

"Dr. Lartes must've reprimanded you heavily, I guess."

"Heh… Of course. Because I didn't listen, as usual. I know he's right but when I get stubborn…"

"By the way, Boss… I've been wondering but… Lately I feel like there's more to the reason you and that Kanou Shade fella quit working for that Anaya gal… It wasn't only the torture stuff the gal did, right?" Sigma suddenly asked.

"You noticed, huh? Yeah. The gal's boasting so much lately… And with that book she wrote to mock us…"

"She treated you and Kanou Shade as use and throw pawns, not elite agents or loyal servants to achieve her goals… Right?"

"Indeed. That's what triggered both of us… She created life… Just for fun and to have servants who she could mock and humiliate forever but who couldn't argue back and would always have to live carrying that shame on them…" Vadous grumbled.

"Bloody hell. If it was some big scheme or the likes, that I can understand but… Just for fun?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure if Nelaus noticed it as well but in his case it was more like they were confident their lies were working and that Nelaus was a total _naïve_ … But he felt an obvious contradiction. If he'd been born to serve an important role, to fulfill a great plan… If he was gifted with great intelligence… Why were they treating him like he was a dumb human with no criteria or will of his own? Else why make him so special, to the point he needed several years of automated "education" before he could awaken and fulfill his role?"

"And when he realized he'd been played for dumb and lied at and that they weren't counting on him and treating him more like a nuisance then that's what motivated him to ditch her." Blood Shadow guessed.

"Of course. And Twilight despite all is a fool blinded by his eagerness to serve and revere her like she was a God. The guy can make up new tech and clever plans but he inherited the stupidity of that woman. See how Kuroshiro ditched him, too."

"No wonder. He was being treated as a pawn to be humiliated forever."

"Exactly! And I'm convinced that not even Izono, her right-hand man and enforcer, has realized that. I remember when he taught me and was my teacher, always proudly saying that he, too, was a necessary piece to complete Anaya's "grand scheme"… It's like one of those regimes when they make people believe the dictator is there to guide them into fulfilling a "grand scheme"… She simply copied them. In her eagerness to stand above all and be supreme…"

"Did you make sure that the guy didn't set up some trap or something in the room, Boss?"

"… Good point. Damn. Hadn't thought of that."

There were some sounds of rustling and some drawers opened and closed: Vadous suddenly gasped as a hiss rang out.

"A real snake!" He cursed

"Oh come on." Both groaned.

"Yeah, it's not a data imitation… It was on the topmost drawer of my night desk! Where I normally store my PET… Wha!"

There was a sound followed by a soft thud and a heavy thud.

"The thing jumped at me but failed and I crushed its head… Well, no other way around… I'm sure it's poisonous… Well, I'll toss it into the incinerator to dispose of it… And check for more traps. Wouldn't surprise me if he planted a spider somewhere, too!"

There were more sounds of rustling and Vadous muttering something too low for the mike to properly pick up.

"Sheesh. There's no spider but found a _Spider-Man_ comic from the 70s along with a handwritten note… "The Envoy of Hell, Spider-Man!"… What the hell? A joke with that rascal named "Hell's Envoy"?"

"In part, but… This actually happened, Boss. A TV drama series made by the Touhou company in the late 70s due to a contract with Marvel Comics allowing them to use their characters at free. So they made several changes to the character and one of them is that, when he appeared in front of the foes, he exclaimed that line…"

"Really!?" Vadous was surprised.

"We casually found it on Nico-Nico Douga…" Sigma admitted.

"Man. The guy's turning into a retro maniac or what?"

"Feels like it."

"Huff. Fine, fine! I'll do another search… Including the gaps between walls… Maybe he hid a bomb, even… I'll have Omega do a scan as well when he returns… I don't want to wake Iris and Trill. Sheesh. Damned Liquid…" Vadous grumbled as he kept on searching.

"What's the matter, Boss?" A man's voice asked.

"Ah, Kir Osh. Turns out Liquid left a couple things here and I'm checking again in case he set up some other trap… Can you double-check the adjacent rooms and warehouses? Is someone else still up apart from you?"

"Daratsu is… I'll go fetch him."

"Good. I won't be at ease until we check all… Check your room as well, just in case. The rascal could've set something there as well!" Vadous ordered the man.

"Wouldn't surprise me. Huff. And I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to use my queer half-brother again to make fuss."

"Good point! Keep an eye there from time to time, too!"

"Roger that."

"Ah! By the way… Blood, you're smaller in height so… Materialize for a moment and check on them. I can see the nanomachines' transmitter info but just in case…"

"Roger."

Blood Shadow warped out of the Cyber World while Sigma sat up, stretching, and transformed the armchair into a stone slab: he sat on the edge before extending his body over it as if it was a bed: Blood Shadow quickly returned.

"All in order, Boss."

"OK. We all need a good rest… Long days ahead of us. VERY LONG days…"

"Indeed, Boss… But in the end… We will prevail…!"


	6. Chapter 6: Irritation

**Chapter 6: Irritation**

11:04 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday April the 11th…

"… So?"

"Huh? Ah. It's you, Karazawa."

"What do you want to ask? If it's not related to the lesson or to the homework then don't bother."

"Hmpf! You're not a teacher."

"There we go again. Cha never learn, do cha? Mana – chan…"

"Shaddup, Scherezade! I'm fed up! I demand explanations!"

"My programming doesn't force me to obey all orders."

"Grrr!"

Meiru and Tamashita had been talking in the classroom during the morning break when another girl walked over to them with brisk steps and looking annoyed.

The girl, named Karazawa, had long blonde hair which she'd tied in a ponytail and brown eye irises.

Her Link PET was colored mahogany with crimson edges: the Navi emblem had golden edge, purple body and the _kanji_ for _oujo_ or "Princess" written on it using azure color.

"Then you solve this mess!"

"Huh? Me? YOU started it! Don't drag me into it! Miss Perfect!"

Scherezade was a girl Navi who had a golden helmet with a large diamond set on the center of its forehead.

Her eyes' irises were colored platinum and she was pretty, if not much, annoyed by now.

She also sported a pearl collar around her neck.

Her chest had a sleeveless silk cloth over it decorated with silver patterns and having a crystal star on the center of it.

Her chest emblem was the same as the one set in the Link PET.

Her arms had pinkish transparent silk cloth over them and she sported 4 rings in each hand's fingers save for the thumb finger: they were respectively colored, from left to right, red, green, blue and yellow.

She wore tight black silk pants with white patterns spiraling down their length in each leg.

For footing she used grayish heeled shoes which each had a ruby, a sapphire and an emerald set on each of them forming a column spanning down the length of them.

Lastly, she also wore a thin silver-like silk cape hanging from her shoulders and reaching until the ground.

"You haven't understood it yet? Sigh. It's simpler than a Physics lesson and yet you can't understand it?" Tamashita sighed, annoyed.

"Grrrr!"

"That Anaya bitch wants to rule the world. And since we're in the way she wants to make us fight each other. And she uses your behavior to do so, uses you as a pawn." Meiru resumed, annoyed.

"I'm no pawn!"

"Prove it."

"Grrr!"

"Looking up to TV drama characters won't make you more mature or make people awe at you." Scherezade dully pointed out.

"HEY! Who told you to speak about THAT?"

"Your aunt did."

"Grrr!"

"Well, what's this fuss about?" A teacher came in.

"Yikes!"

"Ah. Ma'am. This person, as usual."

"I knew it. Karazawa – san, you've been warned many times. By us, and by your aunt."

"Sheesh!" She looked elsewhere.

"Excuse me."

"Huh? Yes?"

"DIE!"

"Eeeehhh!?"

A man on his 40s wearing a suit and with blackish hair suddenly popped in the classroom door while smiling yet his smile was accompanied by a psychotic glow on his eyes: he suddenly drew a long steel rod out of nowhere and ran towards the teacher and the students: Tamashita rushed forward and delivered a _karate_ kick but the leg _passed through_ the man as he also _ran through_ the persons and _through_ the wall as well: a mad crackle ensued.

"What in the… A hologram?" Tamashita cursed.

"Oh? What's the matter, missies?"

"Huh? Now's a grandma?"

An elderly woman wearing round glasses, a cap, a light suit and a skirt appeared next while smiling: she suddenly drew a metal rod as well and ran for them.

"DIE!"

"Ei!"

Tamashita tried a punch next but it was a hologram again so it ran past them again: she fumed.

"Alright. This is that madwoman's handiworks. Must be BORED." She explained.

"Or it's a trick to make us think so." Meiru warned.

"Good point. Maybe they want us to think they ran out of ideas. Because I recognized these two characters…" Aura fumed.

"Yeah. The culprits of the _Library Murder Case_ and the _Old Blue Castle Investigation Case_ from _Detective Conan_ , labelled as some of the scariest culprits… Or as the popular word says… "Everyone's trauma"…" Roll sighed, annoyed.

"By all the…" The teacher cursed, too.

"Did a duck say duck and duck to be a duck that was never a duck but a duck until the duck said that duck had to be duck of the duck that will be a duck?" Someone suddenly said something in a rush through the school's PA system.

"Oh sheesh. Vincent's stupid and endless tongue-twisters." Roll fumed and slapped her forehead.

"Hello? Isaac – kun? Did you hear that?" Felicia contacted him.

"Sure did. I'm heading to the PA control room with Blood to see who's there…" Isaac grumbled.

"Tee, heh, heh. Did you enjoy the show?" Anaya's voice asked with obvious arrogance.

"You're the terrorist, huh?" The teacher guessed.

"Beware, beware… I know what Ikeda is up to!"

"Huh!? Ikeda – sensei, the 2-B homeroom teacher?"

"He wants to be the new headmaster! Thinking that'll allow him to do whatever he wants…"

"Somehow, it wouldn't surprise me and… Hey! Why am I agreeing with what a terrorist says, anyway?"

"Dunno. Ask the Duck of Dukes."

"Oh come on."

"Found Harley Quinn from DC Comics." Isaac grumbled.

"The Joker's lover? How original." Felicia rolled her eyes.

"Totally."

"Oi! Anaya or whatever! What the hell are you up to!?"

"Pawns should shut up and obey." She sneered.

"I'm no-one's pawn! You're as ugly as that granny!"

"KI~H!"

"For once, I agree." The teacher muttered with obvious irony.

"JESS THE RIPPER WILL COME RIP YOU TO PIECES!"

"A parody of Jack the Ripper? How original." Meiru shrugged.

"Clowns go back to the circus." Isaac taunted.

"You shut up! Renegade corsair!"

"Speak for yourself."

"I'm going to kick her face." Scherezade announced before warping out of the PET.

"Go ahead." Roll shrugged.

"Is asking for it, anyway." Felicia shrugged, too.

"Hey, ugly! Take this!"

"Why the little bitch! I'm a QUEEN!"

"In your world of fantasy, just like Vincent."

"DON'T PUT ME ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THAT PRIMITIVE WHO DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT A PC IS AND THINK IT'S STILL THE 1950 ERA!" She yelled.

"Hum… Anaya – san, the PA system is broadcasting to the whole building, ma'am…" A man's voice timidly whispered behind her but loud enough to be picked up by the mike.

"SHIT!"

There was the sound of an explosion before the PA shut off: Scherezade returned to the PET, shrugging.

"She blew up her hideous avatar. Oh well. At least she humiliated herself in public, this will spread like wildfire on the net. Deserves it."

"Totally! What a villain!" The teacher exclaimed.

"Well? Convinced?" Tamashita dully asked Karazawa.

"Hmpf! Fine! Won't let that bitch control me anymore…! But that doesn't mean we're buddy-buddy! I'm above you!"

"That's enough. Come with me, we're going to see the headmaster!"

"Eeeehhhh!?"

"You asked for it." Scherezade fumed.

12:19 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Skull Man. Can you check the security?"

"What? You think someone's intruded?"

"I can't find that cuckoo clock I was going to put on sale."

"OK. But nothing else is missing?"

"No. It's odd, because I did keep it ready here behind my chair so it'd be the first thing I'd do today…"

"Roger."

Miyuki, the Operator of Skull Man, was checking in some boxes of her antiques store while talking to him.

"Hello, Miyuki."

"Ah, Saloma… Say, you remember that cuckoo I showed you yesterday which I was going to put on sale?"

"Yes. What about it?"

Saloma, Wood Man's Operator, came in carrying some flowers and a basket.

"I can't find it."

"Odd."

"I asked Skull Man to check security…"

"And I found traces of hacking." Skull Man grumbled.

"Those clowns?" Wood Man sighed.

"Who else would only steal a cuckoo that's only worth 9000 Z at the best and not take anything else?" Miyuki sighed.

"Sheesh. They didn't have enough with the show they put up a while ago in the middle school, did they?"

"They NEVER have enough. You know that madwoman, she'll never have enough. Never."

"Of course. Types like those will always want more and more and they're never satisfied."

"Uwaaahhhh! De masu~!"

"What NOW?" Both sighed.

"M-M-Miyuki – san, help me! De masu! T-t-this cuckoo is cursed by Ar – Pharazôn The Golden!"

"What!?"

Higure Yamitarou ran in chased by a wooden cuckoo that was hovering in the air while making some groans and surrounded by a reddish "aura" as if indicating its "cursed" state: both gasped.

"And who's that?" Saloma wondered.

"… A character from the Tolkien book _The Silmarillion_ … A human emperor who tried to defy the gods and his fleet was sunk along with the island he ruled over… Deceived by Sauron into doing so…" Skull Man had already looked it up.

"Sheesh. That's no curse, Higure – san! They must've digitized the cuckoo and are using magnetism to make it hover!" Miyuki fumed.

"But it says it'll eat my soul! Help me! De masu!"

"I heard there was a fuss and… What the…?" Charles stepped into the store and was baffled.

"Ah! Morgangantz – kun! Can you do something about this stupid farce those clowns came up with?"

"Huff. Dave…"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll handle it…"

Davis materialized and grabbed the cuckoo with both hands to stop it from chasing Higure: it emitted a ghostly giggle and suddenly transformed into a round metallic bomb with a fuse which was already burning: Davis quickly formed a black rectangular hole on the ground and dropped the bomb as the hole vanished: he sighed in relief.

"Looks like it wasn't an actual bomb. The fuse ended burning but it didn't explode. Instead it makes "poof" sounds." Charles checked over the PET while grumbling.

"All this for such a poor stunt? Huff. They must be feeling INSPIRED."

"YOU WILL ROT IN MY DUNGEONS!" Anaya suddenly yelled out of nowhere.

"You will rot in your ambition." Miyuki drily shot back.

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"You're the one who'll rot like your accomplices. You used them and then threw them away to rot."

"Hmpf! I'm above them! My grandness made those bitches in New Orleans bow before me!"

"More like Twilight's bribes and blackmailing. We know he was pulling strings there and there. Along with Opoulos."

"W-w-w-what's going on? De masu?"

"Go back to your store, Higure – san…" Charles sighed.

"Ah! My store! True, de masu!"

Higure ran off while Miyuki suddenly spotted something: she crouched and checked under a shelf to drag out a box.

"Here it is! They'd hidden it, not stolen it. You can't even do things properly, can you?"

"What!? Oi, you vulture! What does this mean?"

"V-v-vulture? Me?" Swallow Man gulped.

"YEAH! ANSWER ME!"

"T-t-that is… In your email, ma'am, you only wrote "grab the cuckoo, make a digital copy, and set it up like it's a curse!"… You didn't say anything about taking it away, ma'am…"

"What!? Shit! Fine, fine! I overlooked that aspect! Now go eat hyena corpses in the Sahara! You vulture!"

"R-roger!"

"I knew this couldn't end up good and I was right." The man from before muttered.

"AND YOU FETCH RAMEN FROM THE END OF THE WORLD! MARCO POLO!"

"… As you wish."

"Hmpf. At this rate they'll run out of patience and leave you alone, wouldn't surprise me!" Charles taunted.

"GHDGHOHGH!"

"Mordor speech?" Davis smirked.

"I'm so gonna cook you up in that volcano!"

"Cook up _takoyaki_." Skull Man grumbled.

"And leave us alone." Wood Man added.

"Go solve _Sudoku_."

"Shaaahhhh! I'll turn you into stone! Like the Medusa!"

"We're SO afraid. Lady Haken will come reap you."

"Who? That lil bitch from _Wild Arms_? Hmpf! Let her try! I'll turn her into my pawn! Instead of that perv monster rascal!"

"Ms. Anaya… I'd rather stop this pointless yelling. It only weakens you and makes you look like a person incapable of rational thinking. Apart from demoralizing all around you." Another man calmly exposed.

"Huh! W-well… Huh… Yeah… Sheesh. You got lucky…!"

"Hmpf. Found it. There was a Mettool with a speaker built-in." Skull Man reported.

"I see. Well, it's pretty obvious by now. Were it not for Opoulos to control them they'd destroyed each other time ago. We were right in considering that Opolous is the key actor that keeps them together." Charles sighed and wiped off the sweat from her forehead.

"Obviously. Problem is that the guy is a pro, unlike the others, and whenever he shows his hide it's a decoy. Even though we've got the pro executives of the "Committee" the guy manages to dodge them. If there was some way to lure him out… Then we'd only need to stop the others from retrieving him." Davis crossed his arms, sighing.

"Were it so easy." Miyuki muttered.

"Indeed. Were it so easy."

"Someone called for a HERO?" Masa ran in brandishing that fish skeleton blade.

"Too late. It's already over."

"Eeeehhh!?"

"What happened to the fish-store?"

"Oh crap! I have 3 clients waiting!"

"Sheesh."

"What's going on?" Omega appeared on the Cyber World.

"Anaya had Swallow Man make up a lame "cursed cuckoo" and was yelling but Opoulos managed to have her stop. Would've been great if she ended up aphonic from that." Davis summarized with sarcasm.

"Hmpf. Indeed… In the end we found no other booby traps in the HQ, that snake was the only thing. We search all nooks and crannies and installed better anti-materialization jammers. We readied a little surprise as well in case he tries to pull a similar trick again."

"Good idea."

"OUWAAAHHHH! MY RIGHT FOOT AGAIN!" Someone yelled.

"Hmpf. I've got an efficient bodyguard." Omega smirked as he turned around and drew his blade.

"That was that Gate Man rascal, no?" Skull Man guessed.

"Yeah. Had "Michelangelo", a shark-shaped Virus, have a _hors d'oeuvres_ with the rascal's right foot since he's used to it... Can "swim" in the cyber-ground and sneak into the guy to then bite the foot…"

"Heh. Good. If they want to recycle stuff, we can as well. That should remind them that overhearing bears divine punishment." Davis smirked.

"Indeed." Miyuki giggled, for once.

"Better buy some charms to shake off the evil spirits you've summoned before they devour your instead." Saloma laughed, too.

"Heh. Leave it to me. I'll send them a curse that'll make them BALD!"

"Hmpf! Well spoken, comrade!"

17:17 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Boom! Destroy it all! Go, T-Rex Squad!"

"GRRROOOAAAHHH!"

"Run!"

"Run for your lives!"

"Damn!"

"Shit!"

"Mwah, hah, hah. Neo Gospel is invincible!"

"So you claim. We shall prove you wrong."

"Hmpf! Try to beat THIS!"

"Gyaaahhh!"

"Hmpf. The Metal Gear RAY? Hardly an obstacle."

An army of T-Rex suddenly appeared on the Osaka Internet City and began to rampage while shooting energy beams from their mouths: Cosmo Man's voice rang out as the "Rama" trio landed on the area: a Metal Gear RAY appeared and yelled at them but Axe Man was far from impressed.

"Axe Man: handle the RAY. The other two, take care of those poor improvisations." Annihilator Man ordered.

"Roger, sir!"

"Grruoohh! Flame Wrecking Ball!"

Balrog formed a "Wrecking Ball" surrounded by hot fiery flames and swung it on the air as he jumped towards one of the T-Rex enemies which opened the mouth revealing a black cylinder that seemed to be some form of cannon: energy was loading on it already and a powerful reddish beam was shot at him but it deflected off his armor and hit the cannon, blowing it up and piercing through the rear of the T-Rex's head: the wrecking ball fell down on the head, crushing it, and the enemy collapsed into the ground before deleting: he also landed on the ground before rushing for another foe.

"Hmpf! So much for "invincible", rascals!"

"Homing Missiles!"

Destruction Man made small missile launchers pop up atop his palms from inside the hands and shot 10 miniature missiles at another T-Rex as it loaded a shot: they got inside of the cannon's barrel and made a series of miniscule explosions, disrupting the charging sequence: he then turned his right arm into a cannon and shot a howitzer inside the cannon thus blowing it up and the shards shot outwards flying through the thin skin of the jaw's insides and from above and below it: he then landed and delivered a kick to the head and the T-Rex fell backwards into the ground deleting as well.

"Eat plasma cannon!"

"Hmpf."

The RAY opened its "mouth" and shot a big and powerful stream of plasma at Axe Man but he merely thrust his axe downwards to propel himself upwards and formed a "Budraft" Virus (the red-colored version of the "Chinosin" Virus which provided the "Dash Attack" Battle Chip) to ride into: it began to fly drawing a path of flames around the RAY and the machine acted wildly and began to shoot its missiles at random in all directions and none meeting the target.

"Damn it! The IR sensors are mad because of so many heat signatures and can't properly get a lock on anything!" Cosmo Man growled.

"Of course. Because you rely on brute force. We do not." Axe Man drily shot back.

"Grrrr! Eat this!"

The RAY thrust the right arm forward and Axe Man jumped off the Virus as it was hit by the thrust and sent flying across the area: Axe Man landed atop the head and calmly pulled a handle with the left head to open the hatch and reveal Cosmo Man sitting on the cockpit and madly pulling levers to move the RAY.

"Damn! Ran out of missiles!"

"Blame your own incompetence."

"FINE! I'll crush you with my own hands!"

"Be my guest."

Cosmo Man jumped off the cockpit and shut the hatch as he formed a blade which was made of a semi-transparent energy material: Axe Man looked slightly curious at it but wasn't too surprised as he readied his axe for a swing which he quickly delivered despite the heavy weight of it: Cosmo Man was slow to react and got hit as he was readying for a thrust: the blow left a deep dent on his shoulders and upper chest near the base of the neck and pushed him off the RAY and into the ground below which he hit with a CRASH and leaving a crater: Axe Man was already spinning to recover the inertia of the swing and jumped off before aiming it vertically and diving for Cosmo Man who quickly tossed his own blade and used an Area Steal to warp away: Axe Man simply formed another "Budraft" in which to land mid-air and stop his dive.

"Hmpf."

He calmly began to scan around for Cosmo Man as his comrades kept on destroying the T-Rex enemies: Blues, Search Man, Prism Man and Shark Man had joined the fray as well cutting down the enemies: Axe Man heard a sound and quickly turned around to face the RAY which had loaded a plasma attack and was fired towards him: Axe Man accelerated the Virus and flew towards the cannon through the blast of plasma as if it was nothing yet his armor was starting to disintegrate: he grabbed the axe into the right hand as if it was a javelin and threw it towards the cannon: it plunged deep into it causing plasma to leak in all directions uncontrolled: Axe Man jumped down and formed a thick square column in which to land and absorb his energy: Cosmo Man cursed as the plasma shot towards different spots of the RAY's body and melted the armor.

"Axe Man! Damage report!" Annihilator Man ordered.

"Yes, sir. 79.7% of my body armor mass is lost, sir."

"That was too risky."

"Yes, sir. Yet it was necessary, sir."

"Recklessness and courage aren't the same thing. Don't forget that!"

"Acknowledged, sir."

"Pull out. We've got enough reinforcements to deal with them."

"Roger, sir."

Axe Man warped away while Cosmo Man kept on struggling to try to steer the RAY: Search Man calmly took aim and shot through one of the "eyes" into the cockpit: he readied a grenade and shot it inside next: an explosion ensued and Cosmo Man howled something as the RAY stopped moving altogether: Blues landed atop it and opened the hatch again to see how the grenade, a fragmentation model, has filled the cockpit and Cosmo Man with fragments which had stabbed everywhere.

"So?" He taunted.

"Fuck you!" He howled.

"Delighted." He mocked back.

"Demon Hand!"

"Objection! Hah!"

"Damn!"

Zoan Gate Man's "Demon Hand" suddenly popped from above, out of the "Remote Gate" which was hovering mid-air but Zero suddenly appeared and cut it as he dived inside: sounds of a scuffle ensued while Prism Man landed atop the RAY and loaded energy on his cannons.

"Prism Cage!"

He jumped into the air and shot downwards into the cockpit to form a prism that enclosed Cosmo Man and hovered upwards: Cosmo Man growled and began to punch it from the inside but it didn't yield: Search Man landed next to him and scanned around while Balrog readied his "Wrecking Ball" by swinging it on the air.

"Gate Cannon!"

"Hah!"

"Ugah! I still haven't recovered from the right foot bite and they send me to do work! Sheesh!" He growled.

"Not my problem." Zero shot back.

"How's like, Zero?" Blues asked.

"This is a warehouse in Himeji. Which is surely a middle point along the route back to their hideout."

"I see. Destruction Man, can you help him?"

"Sure thin'!"

"… I authorize. The guy might not actually have the coordinates to the hideout but maybe has some info which can be of help." Annihilator Man authorized.

"Now we have to keep tight watch on this rascal. He's too weakened and damaged to pull off the "Dark Generator" so there's no risk of that. But let's not get confident either." Blues instructed.

"Roger that."

"So much for "invincible"." Annihilator Man muttered.

"Stay on alert at all times." Manabe ordered.

"Roger, ma'am."

"This could be a ploy by Opoulos for all we know."

"Good point. Thought it was TOO EASY." Annihilator Man agreed.

"Sheesh. Rascal pulled a real "AM" grenade on us and fled but we did manage to extract some data. It's encrypted but it's not too complicated so we should be able to decrypt it." Zero reported.

"Kept on complain' about the foot and the guy's mobility was low. Next time it won't go like this, of course." Destruction Man added.

"This guy is the real one indeed." Search Man confirmed after he scanned Cosmo Man.

"Looks like he's gone into hibernation state, maybe an emergency mode due to the damage sustained. Good. Now's the chance. Let's go to a secure place and copy the guy's data before the others can organize a counter-attack." Blues commanded.

"Indeed. And I know one such place and someone who can help us get the data very quickly and efficiently." Annihilator Man added.

"Ah. Of course. Let's go there, then." Blues grinned.

"I repeat: let's not get too confident, either."

 _Search Man has a point. But this is a chance. We can't waste it!_


	7. Chapter 7: Malice

**Chapter 7: Malice**

03:08 AM (Utah Time), Wednesday April the 11th…

"… Copy of all data successful. I added several protections using our systems and which the enemy should have a hard time breaking through since the data system is very different from any system used here."

"Excellent. We will now move the guy to Vadous' HQ to keep on with the illusion."

"Perfect. I will begin analysis immediately. It can help us get a better idea of the mechanics of the so-called "Dark Generator" as well."

"Ah! Analysis! Excellent, excellent. Crispy juicy and toasty data indeed! Let us get to work, Reclaimer."

"Is that an input by Anderson? Feels unlike him."

"Maybe it is an attempt to keep him more focused on the task or have more enthusiasm for it…"

Blues and Search Man were standing inside of a room that seemed to have no boundaries and in the middle of outer space given the glow of stars and galaxies scattered all over the place and talking to Navi there while looking at the prism having Cosmo Man closed inside of it.

"Alright. We'll be leaving now, Xon' Edos. Omega will come to speak to you once you finish the analysis." Blues told the Navi.

"Understood."

Xon' Edos, looked about a meter and eighty tall and bronze was the main color of his body with some white spots.

The drawing of a planet was engraved on his helmet's forehead.

His eyes' irises were purple and looked calm.

He had two triangular wings (currently folded) with grooves drawn on it and colored bronze.

These same grooves repeated on the rest of his body.

He didn't have any emblems on his chest or in the helmet's ear pads.

"Here: a shortcut."

"Good. Let's go, Search Man."

"Roger."

Both entered a "portal" that Xon' Edos formed and headed out taking the hovering prism with them as Guilty Spark was humming and looking at some holographic screens filled with unknown glyphs and apparently displaying some process.

"Try to isolate any coordinate data, Monitor. That is what interests us most at the moment. "Dark Generator" analysis will come later. But first priority is figuring out their method of coming and going from their base. Understood?" He told Spark.

"Understood. Coordinate data, then."

"There is the possibility that the data is not actually their base but a mid-way point in which they are picked up by Zoan Gate Man's "Remote Gate"… But nevertheless any hints to their base are useful. Clock updates, schedules…" He specified as he began to interact with the screens as well and check the data.

"Roger. Oh? It would seem that the subject was indeed in shutdown state given how an emergency protocol was activated. The cause was overload of pain sensors. Seems to be standard protocol installed in all Net Navis so it possible that the subject was formed using a standard Navi as base and then heavily modified."

"I see. There was the fear that the man was pretending but now we can be at ease that it has no recollection of being here. Did you find anything on the most recent cache files?"

"Yes, I did. Several groups of coordinates labelled "Rendezvous locations"…"

"Thought so. Download all of them and we will then check where these locations are at."

"Like you suspected, Reclaimer, there is no actual data on their base. There is a protocol that mandates contacting Zoan Gate Man for transport between the base and other locations."

"Indeed. However, maybe if we search better we may find something else… Maybe an emergency protocol."

"I found one file labelled as such but it only has the words "under construction" inside…"

"Or maybe that is a decoy and there is another layer to it accessed by some specific input or password."

"Possible. I shall begin attempts."

"Wait. Do several copies of the data before. It might be rigged to self-delete if the wrong input or password is used."

"Roger. Beginning multi-copy."

"Store in Temporary Folder 389."

"Roger. Moving to folder."

"Hmmm…"

"Is something the matter, Reclaimer?" Spark asked.

"Their memory files have two layers of encryption. Standard one which should not take more than a few tens of seconds for the ship's systems to decipher but… I shall make several copies as well. There could be some trap in them." Xon' Edos decided.

"Understood."

"You go over the data, keep on trying inputs. There is a list I got from Vadous about keywords Twilight probably employs."

"Roger."

"Try one per file."

"Understood."

"I shall do the same."

Xon' Edos began to try inputs into several files which went on deleting with each attempt to decipher them: he did not lose his calm and formed new copies and folders to keep on trying while Spark did the same: his eyes quickly jumped from screen to screen as the list of data was reflected on his eyes' surface: they suddenly turned from red to green and Xon' Edos looked slightly surprised.

"Success? What did I just input?" He wondered aloud.

"I have had success too. Inputted keyword was "Starkiller"…"

"Hmpf. Another sample of Twilight's vain "ego"… But it worked. Now let us see these memory files."

"… They know we're here. So we've secured another base. Only I and Zoan Gate Man had the coordinates. He will use his doors to pick you up at designated rendezvous locations." A FPV (First Person View) of Freeze Man appeared onscreen.

"This was 1 day before Vadous' raid on their previous base. So they had secretly readied a new base…"

"However… For added safety. You, Zoan Gate Man, me and Twilight – sama will be the only ones actually managing the base. Darth Bapgei, IQ – sama, Mr. Secretary and Mr. Jade will oversee from another location. "Don't put too many eggs in one basket"."

"It was a matter of time before they realized it, anyway. Hardly a surprise and there is enough manpower to split."

"And for even more added safety… You will come through different routes each and each will have different rendezvous coordinates. Even if one of you is captured they won't be able to find the base. They might set up watch in the rendezvous points but it'll be in vain because that's only a portion of the points which are constantly rotated, shifted and updated… And to exit the base you will need either MY permission or Twilight – sama's permission. I'm speaking to you, buffoons!"

"Y-yes, sir! Roger, sir!" Cloud Man and Swallow Man nervously replied off-screen.

"You're still in charge of being middle man to deal with Vincent "Red" but only when I or Twilight – sama authorize that! No radio transmissions are allowed either. Only I or Twilight – sama can use them when necessary, and for added safety we'll install remote control on some of your abilities so that you don't use them without permission…. Hmmm? Are you unsatisfied at something, Yamato Man?"

"Huh! N-no, my lord."

"You better behave, too. You've disappointed me far too many times."

"R-roger, sir."

"Also, Cosmo Man!"

"Y-yes, sir?"

"You rely too much on the "Cosmo Gate" when you know it's slow and predictable. Get my point?"

"Y-yes, sir. Perfectly, sir."

"Good. Movement will begin in an hour from now once I get final confirmation. Until then you're to stay put here and I'm going to start installing these security measures. Any attempt to tamper with them will trigger a shut-down of your systems and will be seen as disobeying orders which will mean punishment! We might not be an army but there's a chain of command!"

"Y-yes, sir! Understood!" The four of them acknowledged.

"Disband! Don't start a fight, broom and mop! And don't slack! Or there'll be punishment as well!"

"Roger, sir!"

"Let us fast-forward…" Xon' Edos muttered.

"… So this is the new base…? I see, I see…"

Cosmo Man's view was looking around a plain metallic room with no features whatsoever and he was muttering to himself: the clock on the lower right corner had changed from "Jawaii Time" to "UTC".

"They use UTC… So this is hardly a lead. Did not expect it to be but… Let us keep on watching."

"Here you have space to train and perfect your abilities. And you are not to come out of your designated areas!" Freeze Man was ordering off-screen.

"… As much as I fast-forward and check I cannot find other clues of what kind of location it is… Well. Let us compile the data and wait for Omega to come retrieve it. They will be busy fending off the assault by these fools to come retrieve their man, anyway." He shrugged.

"It is so crispy that I feel like popcorn!"

 _I am afraid young Anderson overdid it with his inputs…_

19:39 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Thousand Spear!"

"Cross Thunder!"

"Swallow Cutter!"

"Stubborn rascals!"

"They don't know when to give up."

"Hardly a surprise by now."

"Grrr! The scout Viruses haven't found Cosmo Man yet?"

"Turns out they've hidden him somewhere in the VR simulator Cyber World's "city"… And they have the Smash Bros. characters there to fight them back!"

"Sheesh!"

Yamato Man, Cloud Man and Swallow Man were fighting against Sigma, Blood Shadow and Omega inside of a Cyber World somewhere: Yamato Man grumbled and glared at Swallow Man who reported the status: Cloud Man fumed.

"Oh? What's this? Bahamas? You sure love tropical islands, don't you? Or it is that woman's megalomania? Thinking she's a millionaire who lives surrounded by luxury?" Vadous said over the radio.

"HMPF!" They played unimpressed.

"I authorize the "Dark Generator"! Blow them up!" Twilight hissed over the radios.

"Roger! "Dark Generator", activate!"

A loud THUMP sound rang out followed by a series of heart bump-like sounds as a purple "aura" formed around the three of them and took on a vaguely humanoid form about the same size as each of the "Darkloids": the "copies" flew forward at a high speed but they suddenly vanished so the "Darkloids" got into fighting stance and checked their surroundings: they didn't see something falling from the "sky" although its shadow could be seen on the ground.

"It's coming from above! Look out!" Twilight ordered.

"Eh? Whoa!"

They all jumped away in different directions at the last instant as Master Hand fell down and hit the ground with the hand extended causing a shockwave spreading over the ground.

"Hmpf! What can this thing alone do?" Yamato Man scoffed.

"Guoh!"

"Guah!"

"Huh? What!"

"Who said there was only one?"

Another two Master Hands suddenly appeared of nowhere and closed grabbing Swallow Man and Cloud Man while Omega mocked Yamato Man for assuming there was only one: two blue "portals" opened and the Master Hands flew backwards into them as Sigma and Blood Shadow also stepped into another two portals: Yamato Man grumbled and aimed his spear at the first Master Hand but a "portal" formed on his feet and he fell inside to land inside of a vast city: the "skies" were grey and the city was eerily silent with a ton of hi-rise buildings with glass façades rising high and all streets deserted of life or decoration: he gulped and got to his feet as he scanned around.

"Damn. A jamming field is in place, can only send local-range transmissions…" He grumbled.

He scanned his surroundings as if expecting an attack but nothing happened and the silence remained undisturbed.

"There's a gravity set here and the Viruses can only explore the buildings by climbing stairs… And the average height of the buildings is 13 floors, ground floor included… Vadous must feel like mocking us indeed. Then again this is a war." He muttered with annoyance.

He walked over to one building and spotted a row of Mettools climbing up the stairs since the floor was totally devoid of anything save but the concrete stairs heading upwards into the next floor: he rushed up the stairs and towards the topmost floor since he heard the Mettools making a fuss over something: he stepped there and found the prism with Cosmo Man inside.

"Oh, here it is! Good job! Let's break this and get out of here. As for those two idiots, I couldn't care less. Survival of the strongest! I will be rewarded and redeemed!" He got confident.

He thrust his spear into the prism and it shattered into countless shards yet the form of Cosmo Man inside was actually a hologram: he gasped as the Viruses suddenly began to look at him: they jumped and began to attack with head-butts one after the other slowly overwhelming him: he growled and tried to shake them off by spinning his lance with both hands and forming a tornado of electrical energy to paralyze them or make them bounce off it and fall into the lower floors: he then loaded energy on the spear and shot a beam into the ceiling to open a hole and exit into the rooftop: he saw lights and heard sounds of scuffle from another two buildings' rooftops several tens of meters away.

"This is Cloud Man! I got fooled by a decoy and now a horde of Viruses is attacking me!" Cloud Man reported.

"Swallow Man here! Damn it! I got fooled, too!"

"Same! Damn it! Fortunately enough we don't know where the base is at so even if they can scan all of Cosmo Man's data they'd only find his list of rendezvous locations."

"As expected of Mr. Jade! At least this time we're not sitting ducks which can be brought down in one blow."

"Shut up, idiots!"

"Yikes! Twilight – sama!"

Twilight had actually appeared on the area piloting a Hind – D helicopter and scolding at them.

Twilight had changed to a Navi-like appearance consisting of a helmet with a mouth guard activated, his chest emblem, consisting on two shades of black and white split by a horizontal grey line.

His shoulder pads were shaped as two split halves of a diamond, navy blue color save for the forearms and his boots, colored purple.

Lastly, he had a black smooth cape hung from the back of his shoulders.

"Hold into it! I'm going to activate a bubble shield!"

"Roger, sir!"

They jumped towards the helicopter and attached to the sides as a bubble shield formed around it deflecting all Viruses.

"I knew it wasn't a good idea to come try retrieve Cosmo Man since I was sure that once they extracted all his data they'd move him to the Navi Prison which would be easier to attack but…! Sheesh! Mr. Jade agreed with me but when IQ – sama gets stubborn, there's no talking Her Grace out of it!" He mumbled aloud.

"But you've put yourself at risk as well, sir." Yamato Man argued.

"I know. But even if they end up finding the operational base, at least IQ – sama and the other two can keep on operating things. For safety reasons I already deleted my knowledge of the operational base and set myself so that only Her Grace can contact me and I cannot. But I can't help feel that I'm missing some factor in the calculations…"

"The alien?" Cloud Man suggested.

"That's it, damn it all! That alien's damned sneaky program which keeps on deleting my data about him! Thought I'd gotten rid of it but maybe it self-replicates! That was what went wrong not so long ago in that plan to defeat those kiddos!" He growled.

"Omega is strong but not invincible, IQ – sama proved it. Vadous is a mortal, he has a lot of limitations. He's no wizard." Swallow Man tried to encourage him.

"Good points, yeah. Problem is that alien. I can't fathom his potential. He's supposed to be way weaker than that damned Slur because he's only an overseer but his strength isn't raw power, it's his quick brains. And his speed!"

"How will we get out, sir?"

"I secured some ways out, came in through another satellite they're using… I've readied some assets to keep those guys busy. But they can still call for reinforcements… If they aren't already here and waiting for a signal to jump into us…"

"I'm picking up tens of decoy signals but can't pick anything else than that… It's like threading into a fogged forest at nighttime…"

"Sure thing… Huh!?"

He spotted Blues and Search Man riding on discs which flew across the air and loading their weapons: Twilight smirked all of a sudden and a cage with two plain walls on the sides suddenly formed in the air and dropped dragging both Navis to the ground with it.

"Go, my servant!"

"Gruaaahhh!"

A copy of Beast Man appeared inside of the cage as it glowed with a reddish "aura": an "Iron Maiden" formed behind him and he stepped in before it closed.

"… _The beast's instincts have begun to sprint… Countless steel blades pierce its flesh… A paradise reached by overcoming pain… IRON MAIDEN!_ "

A pre-recorded voice whispered some words before yelling a name: the "Iron Maiden" glowed as Beast Man broke it from the inside and howled like a beast: Blues rushed for him, Variable Sword drawn, and Search Man took a sniping stance: Beast Man suddenly jumped diagonally across the air until the right end of the cage to land there and form some reddish pools of a liquid that resembled blood: he jumped around the cage another two times before stopped in the NW corner: thick and large spears of steel suddenly formed from the blood pools and extended in several directions so Blues and Search Man had to run around to avoid being pierced by them: Beast Man groaned, dropped the ground, panting, and self-deleted but not before a couple of the spears pierced through Blues and Search Man, gravely injuring them: the cage self-deleted as well while Twilight chuckled.

"I've got a lot more stuff on store!"

"Hmmm? Ah!"

Prism Man suddenly dived for the bubble shield from the NE while having combined his weapons into a large double-ended spear the southern end of which glowed yellow: Twilight smirked as a copy of Aqua Man appeared hovering atop the bubble shield.

"… _My copies reflect in the water's surface… A great tide that swallows it all… Cleanse up the surface's filth… AQUA AVATAR!"_

Aqua Man formed two intercrossing streams of water as he drew a trident-like weapon and jumped into one of the streams as some copies of him having a water-like composition began to jump out of the streams and hit an invisible ground that had suddenly formed above the bubble shield and into which Prism Man had ended up landing, his spear stuck there: and mass of water shaped like a trident formed beneath Prism Man and pushed him upwards: it soon vanished and he fell to the ground as another two copies did the same before the real one rushed past him forming some waves of water and throwing the trident at him getting stabbed over his waist.

"Guoh… Grah…!" He growled.

"Who wants more?" Twilight laughed.

"Petty tricks won't allow you to win, rascal!" Sigma rushed towards them across the invisible floor from the left.

"Hmpf!"

A copy of Number Man formed next and extended his arms horizontally as his head's squares lit up in a pattern.

"… _Codes that make the world's borders waver… The Cyber King is sitting… In an unsinkable fortress which no-one can approach… IMPREGNABLE FORTRESS!_ "

Number Man warped and hovered in the air as several cylindrical cannons formed a circle around Sigma, ignoring the invisible ground, and spun while shooting plasma beams at him: he deflected some with the sword but couldn't block the ones that hit him from behind or below: the cannons switched mode and fired cannon balls that exploded in mid-air as they pulled away: the cannon balls released many metallic shards which scattered in all directions and stabbed Sigma in different spots of his body: he groaned and collapsed.

"There comes more mice, sir." Yamato Man chuckled.

"I'm no mice!" Blood Shadow grumbled as he rushed there from the SE.

"You are, little red mice! Got a special opponent for you!"

"Hmpf. Mere parodies of Darkloids of our friends won't stop our resolve, you fool. You've learnt NOTHING!"

A grey-colored copy of Roll with an evil smirk and crimson eyes suddenly formed there and took a pose like she was a ballet dancer.

"… _Golden hair which endlessly grows… The maiden's life becomes beautiful… Become a tower that pierces the heavens… ENTANGLE BLONDE!"_

Some masses of hair shaped like ropes popped out of the ground and from nowhere in the air and began to try to catch Blood Shadow who dodged them as the fake Roll hovered in mid-air with her arms extended: a large group of hairs suddenly tangled around Blood Shadow's feet immobilizing him as the fake Roll formed a tornado made of thick air spiraling and tangling around Blood Shadow's body while apparently stealing his HP as well: he groaned and collapsed face-down on the invisible ground while Swallow Man muttered something.

"… Too easy."

"What?" Twilight asked.

"Too easy, Twilight – sama… This reeks of a play… They must be pretending to be desperate but it's all within their calculations… I'd prioritize running away while we still can…"

"Hmmm… Yeah, good point… Huh? Damn, you're right. The beaten guys were actually standard Navis with holographic disguises!"

In effect: the beaten Navis weren't the real ones and they'd become standard ones which were warped away: another two Navis armed with RPG-7s rushed for the chopper from the west.

"Hmpf! Even if they're pawns I'll show them my new trump cards! I'm not leaving until I teach them how powerful I've become!"

A copy of Prism Man appeared there and took a pose as if he was in a dancing party.

"…A sparkling prism that makes my heart dance… Aligned prisma seem to tower over me… A prison from which you can't escape… PRISM PRISMA PRISON!"

"Heh! AKA the "PPP"!" Twilight grinned.

"Feels like a childish abbreviation." Cloud Man muttered.

Several columns made of a prism-like material colored purple dropped around the two Navis forming a circle and energy loaded in some spots of them before shooting lasers in patterns linking some spots with others and easily piercing through the Navis: the fake Prism Man dashed across the air and kicked through the upper half of the columns shattering them before vanishing.

"Now's a flamethrower unit!" Cloud Man spotted.

In effect: 5 Navis equipped with flamethrowers were running towards them but a copy of Destruction Man appeared next followed by a standard Navi: the fake Destruction Man hovered into the air.

"… _Machines spun by wires dance… Wired hands control them: their fate is to die… This battlefield is my cuisine… BEAT UP ENTREMETS!"_

The fake Destruction Man formed several strings that attached to the standard Navi's body and it broke into six pieces: head, torso, both arms and both legs which began to move across the air in a pattern: the head formed a laser that ignited oil on the ground forming a wall of flames which surrounded the flamethrower soldiers: the arms closed into punches and flew across the air to smack them on their faces, the legs kicked them on their torsos while the torso also dove towards one of them to knock it into the ground: they call combined back before they vanished: the Hind – D headed for a purplish "portal" that had formed in mid-air and then they saw Omega diving for them.

"Today's last demonstration… Go!"

A copy of Freeze Man (in his original form) appeared and crossed his arms as he built up cold air around him.

"… _Frozen icy petals which dance in the white darkness… They fall into the ground and are quickly cut loose…_ _Absolute zero: get cut in half…_ _Ice Flower Snow Cut!"_

Freeze Man then jumped skywards and suddenly vanished: a white pillar of almost transparent light formed over Omega's position and he barely had time to look upwards before he was suddenly frozen and trapped inside of a giant ice flake: Freeze Man then dived downwards from above with two blades drawn and shattered the ice shard while inflicting heavy damage to Omega who reverted into a standard Navi.

"Let's go!"

The Hind – D flew off through the "portal" which closed: Prism Man, Blues, Search Man, Sigma, Blood Shadow and Omega turned visible atop a building alongside Iris (who was using her Navi form) and Trill.

"Well. At least we have an idea of what he plans on unleashing next. And we heard their chatter. It's possible that he's bluffing about not knowing where the human members are at." Omega calmly concluded.

"Yes. They rely a lot on Twilight so I think it's logical to assume that he does know their hideout." Iris agreed.

"Where did all those attacks come from?" Trill wondered.

"Must've hacked some game company that's working on a game or games that'll have those." Blood Shadow shrugged.

"Guess they'll head to the Navi Prison next. It could be a good occasion to wrap them in a shot but with Zoan Gate Man loose he can easily pull them out of the cells." Blues sighed.

"We knew it wouldn't be easy." Search Man shrugged.

"At least we had some payback for their cowardly tricks. Next time I'll send them flying to meet the Looney Tunes." Sigma grinned and tapped his sword with his left hand's knuckles.

"Yay! Taz will beat the bad guys!" Trill jumped around.

"Alright. Let's reset the environment." Vadous muttered over the radio as he typed into a keyboard.

"Let's not forget to make a check for any backdoors the guy might've set up and…" Omega began saying.

"Snnnnaaaakkkeeee!" Twilight hissed.

"Go back to your nest, Liquid. Have an ear-pull with Vulcan Raven while you scold Ocelot for wasting time acting the cowboy." Vadous sarcastically shot back, undaunted.

"Hmpf! I'm the "Incarnation of Malice"! As long as there is "malice" in the world, I shall revive again and again AND AGAIN!"

"In short: you want to end up like Ganon." Vadous taunted.

"GBHDKGBHDKBH!" He howled something undecipherable.

"You even parodied yourself to act like Ganon not too long ago. And that was YOUR decision."

"Fuck! I felt cocky on that day, but that was an exception! You're not hero and you've got no holy power!"

"And you're no magical entity which can't be destroyed either. You're but a Net Navi."

"A cybernetic being!" He growled.

"Force me to say it, Mr. I-stole-Liquid's-handsomeness."

"What in the fuck…? Grrrr! Speak for yourself! Snake! I'll crush you with a giant boulder!"

"Like the villagers in _Biohazard_ 4? Go ahead, try it. Maybe you're the one who'll crush yourself with your own boulder. I'm busy so go explore Pluto and tell us if the Forerunners left some gizmo there." Vadous dully taunted as he inputted some commands.

"I'm not done-KZZZZZZ!" Static cut off Twilight's reply.

"Pathetic, truly." Iris was hardly impressed.

"Bad guy loses! OK! Trill is going to play with Kirby and friends! See you later! Yay!"

Trill spotted Kirby and his friends atop a nearby building so he jumped into a flying disc and headed there to start playing with them: the Navis began to leave and Iris stayed behind to head to the rooftop and sit on a bench there as trees and tables formed on the rooftop and the skies switched to a sunny day: the city shrunk to a few buildings in which characters from the _Smash_ series lived: some interacted with each other by gestures and voice clips, other trained together, and others used recreational facilities to sharpen their strength.

"As much as Twilight brags, they can't run and hide forever. Sooner or later, they'll make a mistake. And then we'll end this pointless war which so much damage has done." Vadous told Iris.

"Indeed. We came here from our world, ravaged by a long war, to live free of war… And to avoid this world suffering the same fate…!"


	8. Chapter 8: Schemes

**Chapter 8: Schemes**

08:29 AM (Japan Time), Friday April the 14th…

"… Insofar our operations to seize funds proceed smoothly in the new fronts."

"Excellent, Kranos. We retrieved Cosmo Man too but thanks to your strategy they don't know where either of the hideouts is at. You had a point, we were too many eggs in one basket."

"Exactly. Hence why I readied everything during the planning of the decoys we've had the "Committee" and the others chase after… But I must say that the hideout for the Darkloids feels too disproportionate. Are you really sure it's a good idea?"

"Don't worry. It's a good idea. Right, Marco Polo?"

"I'd be wary myself."

"I still fail to see the point of using nicknames on Mr. Izono."

"Oh don't worry. He likes it! Don't you?"

"I thought I'd been clear enough about that aspect. I apologize for the complications, Mr. Opoulos."

Two men and a woman were reunited in a living room somewhere with the curtains closed to filter sunlight: it looked like a normal living room in a standard apartment somewhere with a central table, some chairs, a sofa, and a TV.

One of the men, Opoulos, was on his mid-50s and could be over a meter and eighty in height yet he had a rather athletic figure to him.

His hair was brown and neatly combed while his eyes' irises were also brown: a small nicely cut moustache could be spotted on his face but he had no traces of a beard.

He currently whore a white tuxedo along with black pants and brown leather shoes.

"It's not complications but… Oh well. Ms. Anaya, I understand you want to keep your right hand in check but… Humiliating him the whole time is hardly constructive. It gives way to grudges."

"Fine, fine…"

The famed Anaya was a woman on her late 20s or early 30s and over a meter and eighty tall.

She had orange-colored hair which reached until the base of her neck and blue eyes irises which depicted malice: she had a smug smile to her face.

She sported a black long-sleeved wool jumper, jeans, white socks and white sneakers.

"So? What would be our next move? More distractions overseas like we did at Moscow?" Izono asked.

This man was about her same age and maybe 2 to 3 centimeters shorter in height.

He had black hair and his eyes' irises were brown: he looked calm and he didn't seem to be surprised.

He wore a brown suit, a white shirt, brown tie, brown pants, white socks and brown shoes as if he was a salaryman.

"Yeah. This time let's target Germany. Make the anarchists stir up some mess there and there."

"They're so eager to get attention, it'll be a piece of a cake." Opoulos calmly grinned.

"Understood. By the way, Twilight reports that the status of construction in "Site B" is over 80% completed and it should be ready in less than two days but he'd prefer to do some tests before executing the strategy. Least some mishap trigger when the real deal."

"Of course. Now… The problem which we still haven't found a way to address is… How do we deal with the alien rascal? Even if we could sabotage the "Time-Space Tower", that wouldn't remove the guy's "Past Tunnel". He surely can come in and out without a need of that. If we could find a way to trap him in his own abode…!" Anaya fumed.

"Twilight had an idea but wasn't too confident on it. There's the possibility it might work, but it can also be found out at once before it can properly take effect…"

"Hmmm… He didn't go into details?"

"No. Because he doesn't like to go on details of ideas which are but an initial draft."

"Good point. By the way, Kranos, what about the idea I proposed the other day?"

"I don't think it'll have much success apart from making the organization look like idiots. The others know how much you love to stain their names, they'll see it coming."

"Fine. Then we can discard it."

"There's some odd types moving sneakily there and there but I haven't been able to determine who they are."

"Oh? And what are they doing? Stealing stuff? Smuggling?" Anaya was surprised.

"I can't get a solid hold of that yet, either. It'd seem they're some spin-off of the Sharo Mafia, though. It wouldn't be the first time they attempt to do some secret deal in Japan trying to override the Yakuza but these ones look like they've been around for some time already and operate in small scale to avoid being too noticeable…"

"Curious. Maybe we could use them?"

"It won't be easy. They're small, and they apparently have more than enough manpower so they don't need newbies. What they seem to lack right now is funds but I think it's a smokescreen."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. I got a hold of some info pointing at their leader being an ex – KGB executive… And who's made several successful businesses under several covers… He caught our eye once because we suspected him of being involved in the financing of a pro-Sharo terrorist cell in Bulgaria… And which was planning to strike Ameroupe's embassy in the capital… But the group was caught beforehand by the Bulgaria state police so there was no need to keep on looking into the matter… That was about… 5-6 years ago, I think? Yes, about that time." He narrated.

"Hmmm… So? Can he become an obstacle to our business?"

"Possibly although he doesn't intend to go big."

"So he wants to have his own share of the cake, huh?" Izono guessed without too much surprise.

"Indeed. I'm sure he must be operating under some cover somewhere in the nation… Maybe he might be in an unexpected place. He seems to like to fool with the locations of his hideouts… We suspected him of having set up store once in Dallas next to a hospital and stole some stuff like morphine and such… But by the time we closed into him he'd vanished into thin air… We found the insiders but not the mastermind. He's one sneaky customer."

"I see. So he will keep things small and barely noticeable and if he feels a hint of something closing into him he'll vanish into thin air. Just like us, huh? But he can be used as a distraction without the need for us to interfere at all."

"Yes. It might help divert some attention since they'll probably think that it's a cover for our operations."

"Excellent." Izono smiled.

"Ask him to smuggle you some of your favorite vodka."

"I never drink vodka and you know it, ma'am." His face instantly became dull and unimpressed.

"Anyway. They now know a part of the Darkloids' getaway system but can't get the full picture. We have to make sure that Mr. Gate Man is always at a safe distance to avoid being captured since he's one of the 3 who know the "Point B" coordinates."

"Twilight said he'd make copies who don't have the actual data and who warp at fake locations to further confuse them. Also, he's readying another set of those "Special Skills" for the next confrontation. He hopes that at least one or more can inflict some damage to the alien. I warned him to check his system for that sneaky program."

"What sneaky program?" Anaya frowned.

"Something the alien inputted into him in previous encounters: it erases cache data regarding him and replaces it for something else thus actually making him "forget" that he exists."

"Ah yeah! That's what foiled us not too long ago, true!"

"Yes. That's why I told him to be on the lookout for that."

"Yeah. Weren't it for the rascal, then we could've been victorious on that day…! Kiiihhh!" She hissed.

"No use crying over spilled milk." Opoulos warned.

"Huff. I know. Anyway. Tell Twilight to try to expand upon that initial idea, it might be useful."

"Roger."

"I was wondering… Why don't you tell him yourself instead of using Mr. Izono as messenger?"

"Whenever I speak to him I tend to get annoyed so I decided that Marco would handle it better." She admitted.

"Ah. Because of his blunders and that one case of disobeying orders? That's no good. If you don't transmit rational behavior then he will feel unsure and anxious. A leader must be firm in leadership but yelling at their own subordinates hardly motivates them."

"… You're right. Huff. Yeah, I ask for the impossible. Anyway. I'm going for the usual jogging walk. You know my number."

Anaya stood up and left the living room while Izono sighed in relief which didn't escape Opoulos.

"I'm surprised you've been able to bear with the miss for so many years, my young man. I think anyone else would've given up long ago."

"Yes, sir. You're totally right, sir. But then again I was the type that lacked a real will of my own, I was bullied, my parents barely paid heed to me and I didn't feel a purpose on life. And that person gave it to me. It's something you can't repay so easily so I stick around because it's a favor that lasts all life." Izono admitted with a long sigh.

"I see. I did know some of those aspects since, years ago, I was involved in an investigation about your business… And by some independent research of my own that's how I knew about you two."

"As expected of Mr. Opoulos. Nothing escapes you." Izono got cocky again.

"Indeed. Now let's sit back and watch things unfold…"

10:57 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Vice President, sir."

"Yes, what is it?"

"There a couple of gentlemen here who wish to speak to you, sir."

"Did they provide an ID?"

"Yes, sir. They are detectives from the Tokyo MPD, sir."

"Tokyo MPD? What division?"

"Investigation Department 2, sir."

"Enzan – sama, sir. Department 2 involves the following…"

Enzan had been sitting in his Vice President Office of the IPC HQ and working on something when the interphone rang and he answered it: he was surprised and Blues began to search information.

"… Fraud, currency counterfeiting, bribery, breach of trust, tax evasion, irregular deals or finances crimes, economic crimes, corporate crime… Infraction of election, abuse of public officials' authority and so are also covered by them…"

"Do they have a warrant?" Enzan asked, visibly nervous.

"They do not, sir. They just want to ask you some questions as part of an investigation, sir."

"… May I know their names?"

"Yes, sir. Wait a minute, sir…"

"Blues. Be ready to ring the MPD."

"Roger, sir."

"… Detectives Fukuda and Nagato, sir."

"Please tell them to wait a couple minutes, I'll come meet them myself and use the conference room in the 5th floor."

"Understood, sir."

"Do you suspect that Opoulos has pulled some strings to try to accuse the company of some crime, sir?" Blues asked.

"Dunno yet. Could be that they're investigating some other business and they want to know if we've noticed something odd about them. But let's double-check just in case. The fact that they don't bring a warrant means that it's not a really official visit and there's no accusation against us yet. But nevertheless…"

"This is the police. What do you wish to report?"

"Hmmm… I want to speak to a responsible." Enzan requested.

"Yes, sir. Please wait a minute, sir…"

"In the meanwhile send a message to Superintendent Manabe just in case they can't give us the info."

"Roger, sir."

"Good morning. Sergeant Matsuda here."

"Good morning. My name is Ijuuin, I am the Vice President of IPC… I have received a visit from two MPD detectives… Fukuda – san and Nagato – san… I wanted to verify if they are officers of the MPD."

"Yes, sir. Wait a minute, sir…"

"If they bothered to give their names then I suppose they are real but then again…" Blues muttered.

"… Huh? Odd. I can't find them in the database. What department?"

"Investigation Department 2."

"… I'll ask an officer there. Please keep the line open."

"By the way, reception… Did they come in a patrol car?"

"No, sir. A civilian car, sir."

"Was there a driver?"

"Yes, sir. There was. It headed off to park in the visitors parking."

"Tell the gentlemen I'll be there in less than 5 minutes, a little complication popped up and I must solve it."

"Understood, sir."

"… I asked a member of the department but those names don't exist."

"I had the feeling. It would be best to send a patrol car here. I'll stall for time alleging technical issues."

"Understood. I'll place a top priority call to the closest station."

"Also, I don't know who they really are but they could be armed. It would be better to be careful." Enzan warned.

"If you don't come down at once I'm blowing this jerk's head!" A man's voice suddenly growled over the interphone.

"What! They took the receptionist hostage!"

"By all the… I'll ring the alert!"

"Hey, bud! Go and shoot some of the rascals!"

"Sure thing!"

"Sheesh. Can't be helped. Materialize and stop them, Blues!"

"Roger, sir!"

Blues left the PET and Enzan activated a FPS view through the PET: one of the fake policemen suddenly appeared as he was pointing a service gun at the receptionist: the fake didn't have time to react as Blues delivered a straight punch to the face breaking his nose and making him bleed: he followed with a _judo_ key to flung him over him and make him hit the floor, hard: the gun fell off the hand and Blues quickly retrieved it placing it inside of an energy bubble and then rushing down the hall.

"Huh? What ha-?"

The other fake policeman had apparently heard the noise as he was waiting for the elevator to come down: he barely had time to turn around before Blues closed his right arm around his neck and twisted the left wrist with the left hand: he yelped and let go of the gun as Blues let go of the man and secured the gun: the man roared and ran towards him but Blues spun and delivered a kick to the chest from below which stopped him and then used a karate chop to hit his head from behind to knock him out: some shots rang out as a third man ran in shooting the service gun but Blues ignored them as he drew a Long Sword before advancing towards the other man, who panicked.

"Hiiihhh! It's not a cosplay punk!"

"You're the punk." Blues drily shot back.

"Police! Drop the gun! Or we'll shoot you!"

"Oh shit!"

A SWAT team appeared there in full gear with their shields raised and several aiming at the man with their service guns: he quickly tossed it, and raised his hands as he kneeled: two policemen quickly reduced him as Enzan sighed in relief.

"I'm a Net Savior Net Navi, authorized by the Science Labs and Net Police to use physical force to defend my Operator."

"Yes, we've been briefed about that by Commissioner Kifune of the Net Police a few weeks ago. No issue here."

"Understood. Enzan – sama, are you keeping an eye on the surveillance cameras, sir? It's possible that these fakes were but a decoy and there's another accomplice trying to sneak inside."

"Good point, Blues. Wouldn't surprise me! Surveillance Center, have you seen anyone unidentified come in and out by the fire stairs or the emergency exits?" He asked.

"No, Vice President. We've been keeping an eye on all floors and there's no – one. We tried using the IR mode of the cameras but they caught nothing either. We will remain on alert mode, though." The responsible answered.

"Alright. Thank you. Cyber Security Central, how about there? Any traces of odd programs or Viruses lurking in the Intranet?"

"Nothing. We do checks every a few hours, of course."

"Roger."

"We'll be bringing these to the HQ for detailed questioning. We already secured their car but it'd seem it's a rental car so it won't yield many clues… Do you think Neo Gospel is behind this attack?" The commander of the SWAT asked Blues.

"It's possible but it could be some other party. Maybe some criminal group that's begun operating, trying to abduct VIPs and ask for billions of Zenny as ransom. Some ploy to get rich quickly."

"Very possible too."

"It felt very _amateur_. As they thought we didn't have half a brain. Something tells me they're not the smartest around."

"Indeed. I'll leave a couple officers just in case."

"No problem."

The squad save for a couple officers who took positions to the flanks of the main entrance's door left while another two officers had secured the car and were surely waiting for it to be towed away.

"Come back, Blues, and do a sweep."

"Roger, sir."

Blues warped back to the VP Office as Enzan checked the folders of his PC as he ran a diagnostic tool.

"Hmm? A call from Superintendent Manabe… Yes, ma'am?"

"I just got a call telling me what transcended. I'm sending Prism Man to reinforce you in re-checking the Cyber World, Enzan – kun."

"Understood, ma'am."

"It could be unrelated but at the same time look like it… Or it could be a distraction as well…" Manabe warned.

"Thought so, ma'am. Those types won't stop at anything."

"Obviously enough. We're keeping scouts on their rendezvous locations but they've probably discarded all and come up with new ones by now. Despite that they could think we wouldn't check the same place twice. Any hint is welcome at this stage."

"Roger, ma'am. We should issue a warning as well in case someone tries something similar posing as Net Police officers."

"Of course. I already readied a draft and will send ASAP through all of our channels. I don't expect those men to know anything valuable, though."

"Grunts will be grunts. They probably were hired through some cut-out."

"A reminder that Neo Gospel isn't the only issue we need to deal with…"

 _True… Neo Gospel are the biggest fish but then there's the small fish…_

19:33 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Yaito – sama?"

"What is it, Glyde?"

"Karazawa – sama is on the front gate of the mansion and says she must talk to you urgently."

"Karazawa? Urgently? To me?"

"So she says."

"Link the interphone, both video and audio..."

"Roger."

Yaito had been going over the school homework on her bedroom when Glyde reported that Karazawa wanted to speak to her: she frowned so she told Glyde to connect to the interphone.

"About time, Ayanokouji!"

"What is it?"

"Let me in!"

"Why should I?"

"You've got those flying mowers things, don't you?" She suddenly asked.

"Yes, but what's the relation between-?"

"I saw it, damn it! A murder!"

"Eeeehhhh!?"

"And they saw me, too! I managed to shake them off and ran all the way here! If you don't let me in I'm gonna be killed!"

"T-then come in!"

"There! The bitch!"

"Rip the bitch!"

Yaito opened the front doors a bit and Karazawa ran in as the doors closed: two gruff voices rang out and two men in black overalls and balaclavas having bloody knives on their hands rushed for them.

"Security system, on!"

One of them tried to tackle the iron gates but got electrocuted by an invisible field: the other grabbed him as he was about to lose his footing and they looked up.

"Fuck. This is a huge mansion!"

"Let's scram! They gotta have called the cops!"

"S-sure! But we'll find you, bitch!"

The two of them ran away as Yaito sighed in relief: Glyde was horrified as well.

"Someone guide her to the living room!" She ordered.

"Roger, Yaito – sama."

Yaito got out of the bedroom and headed to the living room: Karazawa was sitting on one of the chairs while looking exhausted.

"H-how did you get into that mess?"

"Wish I knew! I just happened to walk across the park, as always, when I heard a shriek: I happened to see those two killing a woman behind a bench and one of them saw me: I began to run and hid in some bushes to evade them and remember your house was this near! So I thought that you were the safest choice!" She explained in a rush.

"Did you call the police, Glyde?"

"Yes, Yaito – sama!"

"Don't make news of it!"

"O-of course not! Glyde! This is a secret!"

"Roger, Yaito – sama."

"I'll never cross through that spot again! Ever!"

"S-sure… Do you want something to drink or…?"

"N-no… I need to calm down… Leave me alone for a while… And don't tell Scherezade either!"

"G-gotcha…"

Yaito left the living room and headed back to the bedroom only to find a purple envelope atop her desk.

"Odd. This wasn't here before!"

"Strange indeed."

She opened it and found a small paper card with a drawing of Princess Leia from the _Star Wars_ movies.

"Huh? That's it? It's addressed to me so maybe it was on the mail-box and one of the staff left if here while I'd gone to the living room…" She frowned as she checked the envelope.

"But what it could mean?" Glyde wondered.

"Maybe it's that Anaya and her mockery, calling me a princess wannabe! Sheesh. And she calls herself _Ice Queen_. Hmpf!"

"… Are you read to jump to Hell…?" A voice suddenly whispered from behind Yaito.

"Huh!? Karazawa! Don't scare me like that!"

Karazawa had suddenly stepped into the bedroom while having an evil look to her face: Yaito gulped.

"You drove me into Hell…"

"Huh!? What are you-?"

"But I won't die alone… I'll drag you with me…"

"S-someone stop her!"

Yaito ran off the bedroom, panicked, and rushed down a corridor, pressing a button in a hidden panel to make a steel shutter drop down and sealing it: she kept on running but then a door opened and Karazawa suddenly popped out from inside it, her psychotic glare intensified.

"T-the heck's going on…? Is she drugged or what…?"

"But how did she get to that room? It's a stand-alone room which isn't connected to anywhere!" Glyde wondered.

"Wait a min… Perform an IR scan, Glyde!"

"Roger… What! That's not a human, Yaito – sama!"

"Thought so! It must be a Navi in a "Copy Roid"! It can warp and get to other locations ahead of me!"

"Then the story of the murder and those two men…? They were a ploy to allow her into the mansion…?"

"Yeah! Anaya must want to recreate some horror movie! Ring Meiru – chan and ask her to send Roll here! That Anaya likes to distort things to smear our names so if a guy comes to stop her she'll likely try to frame him for violence against women or so!" She ordered.

"R-roger!"

"There's nowhere to run to… How about you come with me to Hell and experience if Satan is as handsome as they say?" Her voice began to echo around the corridor.

"Do that by yourself!" Yaito cursed.

"Hah!"

Roll suddenly appeared and delivered a kick to the fake Karazawa's jaw to propel her into the air and make her hit the floor face-up but she stood up as if nothing had happened.

"Sheesh. Her pain sensors have been disabled. She can't feel pain. So a beat-up won't stop her." She fumed.

"You OK, Yaito – chan?" Meiru asked.

"S-somehow!"

"It's alright, Roll's there now! We did a lot of training so she'll take care of that cheap stalker wannabe!"

"T-thanks, I owe you one!"

"Don't mind it! We help each other!"

"Eat this! And this! And this one!"

Roll delivered some punches and kicks to the fake Karazawa who'd reverted to a standard female Navi: neither of the attacks stopped her advance and Roll drew a Long Sword which she thrust into the torso below the chest: it pierced through the skin and emerged from behind before Roll quickly pulled it out and formed a Dream Aura around her and Yaito.

"See you in Hell!" The Navi laughed.

Her Copy Roid's generator overloaded and became an expanding sphere of white plasma which engulfed most of it: the arms and legs and head fell to the ground along with burnt remains of the torso: Roll quickly scanned the area.

"Scherezade, do you copy?" Roll called through the radio.

"Uughh… Someone snuck on me and forced me into emergency shutdown… I'm at my PET but…" She replied.

"Say, is your Operator at home?"

"Huh? What's this note here…? Oh fuck! "Feel the despair!"… That fucking megalomaniac bitch!" Scherezade cursed.

"What? Karazawa got kidnapped by Anaya?" Yaito gasped.

"Obviously. She took profit of her personality and that she was distant to us unlike Scherezade. I dunno if the attempt to abduct Ijuuin – san was a decoy to hide this or not, though…" Roll fumed.

"So that must mean that her "witness" is a lie and those two were grunts hired to make it believable and trick me into allowing her in… Because I did install jammers to avoid the Neo Gospel guys from warping in from the outside but…" Yaito fumed as well.

"I see. That's why they bothered to do so. Once she was inside she could warp at will across the house. In my case, Glyde allowed me in. By the way, could you leave for a moment? There's something we want to discuss but we'd like to keep it between us." Roll asked him.

"Understood. I shall be in the bedroom PC."

"It's clear enough why she abducted Karazawa. Use her as human shield and, at the same time, fulfill her sadistic nature by torturing her through lesbian S&M." Meiru fumed.

"Obviously enough. She might've been annoying and so but she doesn't deserve the hell that she's going to suffer." Roll sighed.

"One more reason to find them and bust 'em at once!" Yaito rallied.

"Oh sure thing! I'm so eager to have payback on that bitch! Sheesh!"


	9. Chapter 9: Acids

**Chapter 9: Acids**

07:16 AM (Sydney Time), Saturday April 15th…

"… Heh, heh, heh. Now that's a nice surprise, my disciple."

"Well… To be honest, Master… I didn't expect you to drop by here again, thought you were busy with more important matters… Like the construction of whatever "Point B" is…"

"Mr. Opoulous suggested I take a break and go have some fresh air so as to shake off tension. He was totally right. Of course, there's no way that he predicted that I'd find this but I had the right idea in coming over to check on you… And the construction is automated, anyway."

"I see."

"It'd seem Bapgei has been training you well, my boy… What was your name again?"

"Eh… Cody…"

"No need for formalisms… I'm not your boss. Now I'm going to have a closer look…"

Twilight, on his "human" form was talking to two guys in a brick-made underground room lit by candles.

One of them, whom he named Bapgei, had jet black hair and green emerald irises.

He could be around sixteen or seventeen years old and about a meter and eighty tall.

He wore black leather pants and boots and long gloves as well as a black leather ring placed on the center of his chest and with six leather straps spreading outwards from it and converging again on his back.

"Excellent body, yeah… Been a while since I've been able to examine a fresh body like this…"

The other guy, Cody, could be on his early teens and about a meter and fifty tall.

He had blonde hair but his eyes were hidden by a thick black wool blindfold.

He was totally naked and his body was tied with crimson ropes in the "turtle shell bondage": his arms were placed horizontally and kept immobile with tightly tied rope.

The room had S&M stuff that could be seen there and there including a wooden horse with two built-in vibrators, a crimson red wood cross, a collection of whips and ropes, chains and cuffs, blindfolds, ball-gags, leather masks, candles and lighters, clothes pegs, metallic cups, rings with small weights attached to them and so on.

Twilight was rubbing Cody's jaw with the right hand and gripping his balls with the left one as he checked his body.

"I'm going to test you out… You don't mind?"

"N-no…" Cody nervously replied.

"Not like I'm going to train you instead of Bapgei… It's just been a while since I had fun with a kid… I'm not going to force you to work for me or anything like that…"

Twilight walked behind Cody and opened his pants' zipper to draw his cock which was already hard: he used both hands to stretch open Cody's ass and quickly stuffed his cock in: Cody gasped as Twilight quickly began to pump in and out: Cody groaned but his cock was getting hard too so it was obvious he was actually enjoying it: Bapgei smirked and gripped Cody's cock with the right hand as he tied some rope around the base to further tighten it.

"You kept on saying you wanted more of the "real deal" so I thought I could take profit of the occasion to show you some of it… Real gay slaves can't cum unless their owners allow them to… But when you're finally allowed to let it out… It's a feeling unlike any other!"

"W-whoa…!"

Bapgei then rummaged in a small wooden box placed atop a table and took out two steel pegs linked by a chain and with a small weight hanging from the chain's center: he clipped both on Cody's nipples triggering a groan from him each time: the weight pulled them downwards and pulled Cody's nipples as well.

"F-feels too good…!"

"Heh, heh. See? I told you that you had masochist instincts."

"Sure thing…!"

Twilight smirked and did one final thrust before he released: he pulled out and Bapgei nodded at a gesture from him: he also drew his cock and inserted it next while Twilight moved to the front and had Cody lower his body downwards.

"Here. Suck."

He had him start to suck his cock and moved his head from behind to set a pace while Bapgei hummed a tune as he pumped in and out of Cody's ass: both released at about the same time and Cody panted: Bapgei then loosened the rope around the base of his cock to allow him to release: he let out some vigorous spurts and seemed to faint.

"Like you said, he has the instincts and enjoys it."

"Yes, Master. But like I said, it's a play between us. I don't intend to train him into a real slave."

"Of course. Didn't say you had to. Do as you like, it's your private time and I won't interfere with it. I just dropped by today because I thought I'd find you training on yourself." Twilight shrugged.

"… Whoa… Man… That was… incredible… Guess that's what they call… What was it…?" Cody muttered, laughing.

"The Nirvana?" Twilight suggested.

"Yeah, that was it!"

Bapgei undid the blindfold: Cody blinked several times to get used to the lighting revealing blue eye irises.

"Actually… I did do that of keeping your cock tight and teasing it with a dildo before letting you release… But this time I didn't use it so that it felt more natural… And to test your masochist instincts…"

"Yeah, true… Each time feels so good I feel like I forget exactly what we did… Hah, hah…"

"Say… You still haven't told me how you're connected."

"We're cousins, Master."

"Ah, I see! I did think you did look alike but I did remember that you've got no brothers, Bapgei." Twilight rubbed his chin.

"Wow. Your boss sure is a real handsome! Cousin Philip!" Cody whistled as he set his eyes on Twilight.

"Heh. I look up to Liquid Snake so…" Twilight shrugged.

"Lately he began telling me things felt boring… Games were fun, yeah, and so were other series and such but… He wanted something more physically stimulating… As long as it wasn't drugs, alcohol or tobacco… So I brought him here and began to train him…"

"I see. Well, in my opinion there's no age limits in this world. Although teens are highly priced. Or twinks, men with no body hair, slim and smooth… I'm talking about the "underground", of course. Not the legal gay movies." Twilight chuckled.

"Speaking of which… It was on the news: some fake cops tried to abduct that Ijuuin guy… Was that a plan you devised?"

"No. It wasn't me, neither Lady IQ. Mr. Jade suspects the involvement of a small Sharo gang leaded by a sneaky ex-KGB executive. They don't intent to compete openly with the "Secret Empire", but intend to be kind of a VIP club for the rich… They keep on moving so it's hard even for us to keep a track of them. They operate under several covers, too, which makes identification hard. And they don't accept new members. We tried to pose as investors but we were told they had more than enough, too." Twilight explained, rather amused.

"Wow. So there are types which can even elude you…"

"I'm not perfect. It's bitter but I've had no other choice but to accept that. Thanks to Mr. Jade's counsels. He's an excellent confidant."

"Isn't that guy worrisome?" Cody asked.

"Nah. He has like 8-10 grunts at the utmost. And keeps on rotating his trophies according to the region… He never keeps more than 3-4 of them at the same time… He makes use of us "Secret Empire" to blame for the abductions and training of them…"

"So he's laughing at your face, no? I thought Lady IQ would be pretty annoyed at the guy by now."

"Her Grace decided that the guy can come later. We've got an operation coming up soon and we need to be ready for it."

"I see."

"You'll have a role, don't worry."

"Excellent. I guess it's about giving Nelaus some trouble? Heh."

"Of course."

"Ah yeah… You'd talked about that guy, who's your rival… And how you tricked him not too long ago…" Cody recalled.

"Why do you keep him tied up?" Twilight asked Bapgei.

"I like the feeling of the ropes and it makes me feel excited." Cody shrugged.

"Heh. A true masochist indeed. Good, good." Twilight laughed.

"But if you feel uncomfortable or your muscles stiffen or get numb then tell me at once." Bapgei warned Cody.

"I know, I know."

"Say… How about we have him try that on?" Twilight signaled something.

Bapgei looked in the direction he pointed: there was a wooden chair with a thick vibrator set on the base and three wide and thick black leather belts unbelted on both sides: Cody grinned as Bapgei carried the chair to where he was and he sat down on it allowing the vibrator to slide inside of him: Bapgei then tightly adjusted the belts so that he was totally immobilized along with a couple of ankle cuffs on the front legs of the chair: the sides of each leg also had a steel bolt that could be inserted into holes drilled in the ground to secure it on place: Bapgei picked a urethra rod with a cap and inserted it on Cody's cock with the cap covering the cock's head: he placed the blindfold on him as well before picking a remote and turning the vibrator on: Cody groaned and laughed.

"Oh yeah! This feels so exciting!" He laughed.

"Good… Let's train him in blowjobs, shall we? Bapgei."

"Delighted, Master."

 _Heh… Maybe one day you'll be the one at my mercy… Nelaus!_

10:03 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Yo! Dragon and tiger! Time to wake up, sleepyheads!"

"Funny YOU say that…"

"Heh. We did stay up late yesterday, after all…"

Netto rallied Enzan and Laika to wake up as they shared a king-sized bed in a bedroom somewhere: they were covered by the blankets up to the waist and Netto was in the center, Enzan to his left and Laika to his right: Enzan looked sleepy while Laika was grinning: their upper bodies were naked as well.

"Yeah. Watching _Big Bang Theory_ episodes. They're so funny." Netto laughed.

"Sure, sure… Man. I feel so sleepy. Guess the anxiety from the other day kept me awake…" Enzan yawned.

"Can't be helped. But your sleepy face is the best. I should share it amongst your fan-girls." Laika smirked.

"Sheesh. It's not funny." Enzan grumbled.

" _Tsundere_ Enzan on the scene!" Netto laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure."

"Maybe you need a zap from a Pikachu?"

"Sheesh. Save your sarcasm for another time. And don't tell me this week it's my turn… Could've sworn it was last week already!"

"Nope, this week is my turn. Happy?" Netto smirked at him.

"… Sheesh." He blushed and looked away.

"So you do have a fetish, huh? About time you admitted to it. We don't really mind but if we can't be honest with each other here then when will we do so, Enzan?" Laika pointed out.

"Fine, fine! I admit it! I have a fetish! Something about you makes me feel so damn hot." Enzan begrudgingly admitted.

"No wonder. I seem to be a magnet." Netto shrugged.

"At least you're not Mouri Kogorou." Laika chuckled.

"Oh come on." Netto rolled his eyes.

"Sorry. Maybe I overdid it?"

"Somewhat."

"Fine, fine. I drop it."

"So you're not Mr. Perfect!" Enzan suddenly accused Laika with his right hand's index finger.

"Did I ever say that I was?"

"Well, you did act like it when we first met…" Netto argued.

"Hum, good point. But that was years ago."

"Yeah. Now you're not so bossy." Netto grinned.

"Heh. Bossy, eh? What about you, Enzan?"

"Leave me alone." Enzan blushed again.

"Heh, heh. Do you know about the coffee that flew off the cup and landed in the tea-pot?" Netto laughed.

"What the heck is that?"

"According to Sigma, one of Dragon – san's newest Chinese banners. Apparently a translation of what an Englishman in Hong Kong said at some point in the 20th century."

"Sheesh. Feels like a parody Cloud Man came up with."

"Speaking of parodies… Vincent's been pretty quiet. Looks like they're really enforcing the curfew." Laika commented.

"Better for us. About damned time."

"Say, do you think that the guys who tried to abduct you didn't work for Neo Gospel but for some other gang?"

"According to the police interrogation, they got hired by some guy who claimed to be a grunt of a "VIP" and paid each 100000 in advance and promised 300000 each if they did the job." Enzan explained.

"So… A total of 1200000 Z, huh? They sure have lots of money to spare."

"Yeah. Neo Gospel normally doesn't waste that much, no?"

"Yeah. The "Committee" also has a suspect on mind, like I told you the other day…"

"I see. Well, we must be on guard. Taking into account the abduction of Karazawa as well…"

"Of course. But they know we're expecting that, and that they won't have it easy."

"Maybe they need acids of acidic acids." Laika grinned.

"What's that?"

"Dunno. Ask Vincent."

"I knew it." Enzan groaned in exasperation.

"Maybe you got prophetic powers from Miyuki – san?" Netto laughed.

"Oh come on. Last thing I needed."

"Or maybe you've got wilderness instinct."

"Sheesh."

"A hammering hammer of hammers will hammer a hammer of hammering hammers." Laika let out a stupid tongue-twister.

"Gimme a break! Did I screw up or what?"

"Oh no. But I like teasing you to see the limits of your _tsundere_ mask. And poke at your true nature."

"Huff. Fine, fine. I yield you the rear, I'll have the front!"

"How generous of you."

"Sheesh." He looked away.

"Want to do the honors?" Netto directed a grin at him.

"H-huh… Hum…" His blush intensified.

"Heh, heh, heh. Time to call the poke squad."

"Sheesh. Fine, fine…! It's just that… Hum… Well… I didn't want my fetish to become an obsession!" He cleared his throat but his blush didn't fade.

"Really? Or maybe your fetish includes more than what I thought it did?"

"Y-yeah… Well… Yeah. It does. My bad. I'm starting to look like a coward and I'm no coward!" He begrudgingly admitted.

"Fine, fine. Calm down. I'll give you a lollipop."

"No need to. I'd rather have an iced coffee."

"Give a minute to wash myself. Or better yet… We can do it on the shower, it's wide and long enough." Netto suggested.

"Why not… We must be careful not to slip and only use the necessary amount of water. It'll make cleanse up easier too." Enzan rubbed his chin, thinking about the idea.

"Shower Man will bless us." Laika chuckled.

"That makes ZERO sense."

"Maybe because Zero turned it into raw bits?"

"Fine, fine." Enzan rolled his eyes.

"OK! We all agree, so… Let's go, do it, and then we'll have a good breakfast… Including Starbucks iced coffee." Netto rallied.

"No need to. Normal iced coffee will suffice."

"All you lack is Sharo – imported ice. Or ask Ice Man to make some." Laika suggested.

"Sheesh. No need to, Mr. Smug Foreign Serviceman!"

"I feel praised, Mr. Cool Vice President."

Netto was hardly muffling his laughter with both hands as both directed fancy titles at each other, with Enzan still half-annoyed and Laika being totally amused.

"If we don't hurry it'll become noon at this rate." Netto warned.

"OK, OK…"

They got off the bed: all wore boxers with Netto's being navy blue, Laika's green and Enzan's red: Enzan crouched and checked below the bed a box closed with a dial padlock: he aligned the 3 dials to input the password and unlocked it to bring out some crimson rope: he slowly spread it out and stretched it to test its state: his eyes glittered as he did so.

"See? That's what I meant. You have a fetish for using rope to tie me up when it's my turn to be the "bottom" in our "light" S&M play." Netto grinned as he pointed it out.

"Sheesh. Yeah, I admit it. Dunno why. Until we began this I'd never tied anyone. I did learn knots when I used to help secure cargo in the storerooms…" He admitted.

"OK. Let's heat up the shower and get into action."

Netto and Laika headed into the adjacent bathroom and they undressed as they stepped into the shower plate which had two semi-opaque sliding plastic doors: Netto opened the shower and let it heat to then build up steam: Enzan came in with the rope rolled and Netto calmly crossed his wrists as Enzan tied them with a small roll of rope: he then picked the larger roll and tied it above and below Netto's nipples: Laika began to poke Netto's ass with his fingers to widen it while Enzan moved to the front and got to his knees to lick Netto's cock.

"Let's begin." Laika announced.

"Sure!" Netto grinned.

"Finally…!" Enzan muttered.

He quickly began to suck Netto's cock and he smiled in pleasure as he closed his eyes: Laika inserted his cock into Netto's ass and began to move while humming a tune: Enzan in the meanwhile was rubbing Netto's balls with the right hand.

 _I missed something exciting to shake off tension. Guess niisan must be having fun with the other two, too. Heh… Enzan… Who'd said you'd end up having the fetish to tie me up and want to have sex with me while I'm tied up? Not like I mind it since we take turns sharing the role but… Ironies of life, I guess? Heh, heh._

"Coming!" He announced.

"Oho? Then one final thrust!"

Netto released filling Enzan's mouth as his release tightened the muscles around Laika's cock making him release as well.

 _Ah, excellent! Heh, heh. Let's keep on!_

10:13 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Fuwa~h… Hmmm? Where are you, guys?"

"Doing some training."

"We thought it'd be best to let you rest more."

"Ah, I see. Oh well. What about the trio?"

"I think they're on the bathroom."

"They must be getting ready."

"Guess so!"

Saito stretched as he woke up on another bedroom's king-sized bed: he looked around and spotted Enzan's and Laika's PETs next to a Toshiba laptop which was open: Blues and Search Man were training against simulations of Viruses: Saito grinned as he leant his head on his left hand and placed the left elbow on the bed: his upper body was naked, too, and the sheets covered him up to the waist.

"I suspect they're playing there for a change. Not like I mind. If I'm not mistaken this week it's Netto – kun's turn. Enzan must've been eagerly waiting for that."

"No wonder." Blues sighed.

"What's the matter?" Search Man asked.

"Enzan – sama has an odd obsession with this. Maybe it's because he wants to be in charge."

"Well, he is a VP so…"

"I know. But I dunno why he and Laika must always be at odds and like teasing each other."

"I know. Maybe it's his way to thaw the ice but it feels a bit too blunt, in my opinion."

"Well, as long as they don't fight each other I don't think we need to worry much about that." Saito shrugged.

"Insofar the wolves have stayed very quiet." Search Man warned.

"Too quiet. It's not a good sign."

"Yeah. Wish we could forget about them for a day but that'd be failing our duties as "Net Saviors"." Saito sighed.

He stretched and got out of the bed: he wore light blue boxers and was barefoot.

"Going to peek." He grinned.

"I don't see the need to…" Blues muttered.

"Maybe." Search Man shrugged.

Saito exited the bedroom into a corridor of an apartment and walked some meters to another door which was ajar: he entered the bedroom where Netto and the other two had been sleeping at and saw their clothes neatly folded atop a drawer shelf to the left: he then slightly opened the bathroom door to see the figures of Netto in the middle, Laika on the front and Enzan behind.

 _Heh. I knew it. So? What's Enzan up to today?_

"… It tickles! Hah, hah! When did you become a licking master, Enzan? You're licking all over the base of my neck!" Netto laughed.

"I feel the urge to!" Enzan admitted

"Heh, heh. See? Now you're being honest." Laika chuckled.

 _I think Enzan is up for a surprise…_ He crouched and tiptoed inside while softly shutting the door: he stopped but none of the trio seemed to have noticed.

"But… I feel like I lack something… What could it be?"

"Hugo Boss." Laika laughed.

"Very original." He grumbled.

"Hugo VP. Only for handsome VPs." Netto laughed next.

"Sheesh."

"Or maybe Hugo the Huge."

"Oh come on. Must be another lame parody or some meme."

"They say the meme master will eventually bless us." Laika seemed to snicker.

"Meme master? Bless us? Yeah, SURE." He turned skeptical.

"I think you lack… The void." Netto giggled.

"How can I lack something empty?"

"Dunno. Ask the Duke of _Burritos_."

"Will you stop quoting Vincent?" He asked with resignation.

Saito had picked up some spare rope and readied a ring with a short stretch of rope in the _cowboy_ style: he opened the sliding panel a bit and slowly came in: Laika saw him but pretended not to as he directed one of his smug smiles at Enzan making him get slightly annoyed.

"Surprise attack!"

"Huh? Eh? What!?"

Saito quickly stood up and threw the ring at Enzan: and when it got to the height of his shoulders he tightened it and pulled Enzan towards him and out of Netto who grinned as he looked over his shoulder: Laika stood up as well while using his right hand to keep rubbing Netto's cock: Saito in the meanwhile was rubbing his against Enzan's ass.

"What's this about, Saito?" He asked, surprised.

"Your fetish is like a cold, Enzan! It can infect others!"

"Eeeehhh!?"

"Didn't you say you lacked something? You lack a good cock up your ass, that's what. No, don't deny it. I heard it all!" He giggled.

"T-that's…" He turned red.

"You're not even struggling, man. Isn't that proof that you actually like this turn of events? Look, your cock is getting hard again!"

"Eeeehhhh!?"

"Maybe your actual fetish is ropes and not just tying others but the feeling of ropes? Well? How about it?" He whispered into his right ear from very close up as he grabbed his writs and tied them up as well.

"That wouldn't surprise me." Netto grinned.

"Wouldn't surprise me either."

"Coming!"

"Oho."

Netto released and Laika licked the stuff that stained his right hand: Saito in the meanwhile tied the remaining rope below Enzan's shoulders: he then slid his cock inside and Enzan gasped before letting a groan of pleasure: Laika turned Netto around and they walked over to Enzan: Netto quickly began to kiss Enzan on the mouth as he rubbed his cock against Enzan's: Laika hardened his cock and slid it inside of Netto since his ass was still widened.

"Now this turned into a foursome, even!" Laika chuckled.

"Sure. I felt like having some fun with Enzan. Blues and Search were training so I didn't want to interrupt them."

"I see. Well, now that should quell Enzan's constant lack of satisfaction. We know what's needed to satisfy him."

"Of course. Look how he's enjoying his kiss with Netto. He's a _tsundere_ , he actually goes crazy when it involves Netto. But maybe he should learn to repress impulses least he stand out."

"Good point… Oh! Coming!"

"Heh! Good!"

Both Netto and Enzan released and triggered Laika's and Saito's releases as well: Netto and Enzan broke apart, Netto grinning as he recovered his breath and Enzan looking exhilarated.

"I'd never felt SO GOOD!" He exclaimed.

"Then my diagnosis was right. You have a ropes fetish, Enzan. And Netto is so hot that you want him for yourself. Maybe those guys influenced you without you realizing?" Saito teased.

"W-well… That's…" He blushed and looked away.

"I won't get angry if that's the case, Enzan. As long as it's consensual I don't mind some S&M. You know Saito – niisan and I do S&M threesomes with Tooru – kun every then and then, anyway." Netto giggled.

"So maybe you improve the rules of your roleplay, too."

"Y-yeah… Alright… Now I know what was bugging me and why I felt so unsatisfied… So… I owe you one, Saito…"

"Don't mind it. I wanted to help make your relationship better. There's nothing to be ashamed of, anyway."

"Let's do some blowjob training." Netto grinned.

He got down to his knees and began to lick the length of Laika's cock: Enzan imitated him and did so with Saito's cock: they then began to suck each one's cocks while both Laika and Saito grinned at each other and shared a blink.

"I think Blues and Search have begun to run out of passion for sex and they don't feel an urge for it as we humans do. So I guess I'll join you guys and we'll make a foursome. It'll be fun."

"Sure. We can make different combinations too."

"Heh! Here it goes!"

"Fire!"

Both released and overfilled the other two guys' mouths: Netto got back on his feet supported by Laika to make sure he wouldn't slip on the wet floor while Saito helped Enzan get up.

"I think that's enough for one morning. Let's finish breakfast, cleanse up and go back before it's too late." Saito suggested.

"Yeah. I'll think of a plan for next time." Netto grinned.

"Huh… Sure…" Enzan looked like he was overwhelmed by the experience.

"Heh, heh. Enzan's reached the Nirvana indeed." Saito giggled.

"Once he gets back to the office he'll be back in his usual mood, don't worry. All he lacks is his leather and steel throne." Laika laughed.

"Very funny." He grumbled as his usual semi-annoyed mood kicked in.

"See? I'm a prophet. They better hire me for a TV series with prophets."

"No way…" Enzan groaned.

"Behold! The rise of Prophet Laika! He'll predict the start of snow!"

 _Not bad, Netto – kun! Heh, heh! Today sure was a fun morning!_


	10. Chapter 10: Off-season

**Chapter 10: Off-season**

04:40 AM (Washington Time), Sunday April 16th…

"… Sir!"

"What is it?"

"On my patrol of the eastern side of the fence I found a paper plane… I checked it but it only said "off-season"…"

"Off-season? Odd. But must've been some prank."

"Yes, sir. Nevertheless I thought I should report just in case, sir."

"You did well. Resume the watch."

"Yes, sir!"

"Ahem, ahem. The off-season party will soon begin."

"Who…? Someone's jacked into our radio frequency!"

A Secret Service agent was reporting to his superior in the gardens of the White House when an unknown voice suddenly rang out of the superior's walkie-talkie.

"Identity yourself!"

"The promotor of the off-season party."

"Hacking into Secret Service frequencies can be punished with…"

"Your belly?"

"Huh!? I'm not in the mood for pranks. Identity yourself."

"Like I would, Agent Smith."

"My name isn't Smith! And don't compare me to that guy from _The Matrix_ either! Identity yourself! We can track back your signal, you know!"

"Maybe I'm someone and no – one?"

"Get the technicians to track this!" He ordered to one of the agents.

"Yes, sir! Immediately, sir!"

"A couple minutes."

"Huh? What was that?"

"The off-season party will begin in a couple minutes."

"To all men, reinforce perimeter security! It might be a terrorist attack! Patrol the outer perimeter, too!"

"Yes, sir!"

"One minute."

"Whatever you're planning is in vain!"

"I wonder about that, Agent Smith."

"Stop calling me "Smith"!"

"Maybe it'll be Agent Johnson, then."

"That's not it, either!"

"20 seconds."

"Well? Did you find anyone or anything odd?"

"No, sir. Nothing insofar, sir."

"Stay alert!"

"Yes, sir!"

"10 seconds."

"It's a bluff." The superior fumed.

"6 seconds."

"You don't impress me."

"3 seconds."

"And nothing happens."

"Wrong. The off-season party has begun now, at exactly 4:44 AM. Triple death is coming."

"T-triple death? What does that mean?"

"The number 4 shares spelling with "death" in Japanese. So it's a number that is avoided in some buildings like hospitals."

"And how does that…? Huh? What's this huge shadow…? A cloud? Too big for a cloud, isn't-? Oh my God!"

The superior noticed a black shadow spreading and looked upwards to try to see if it was a cloud but then he gasped in horror as he saw a large UFO made of grey blocks and which had a round center with eight vertices spreading and linking to a wider, outer ring.

"Happy _off-season_ Independence Day, Agent Johnson." The man sneered and laughed.

"By all the… Where did that thing…?"

"Don't underestimate the power of the Dark Side of the Force. I find your lack of faith disturbing."

"A _Star Wars_ wannabe?"

"No, not a wannabe! A real Sith Lord! Darth Twilight is the name! Engrave it, fools! As the man who brought down the mightiest nation to its knees! Hah! I know your big boss is actually on Dallas but nevertheless what'll he think when he comes back and his abode is but a ruin?" Twilight laughed over the radio.

"Twilight…? Wait, isn't that…? The Neo Gospel leader!?"

"Same man! Mwah, hah, hah, hah!"

"Quick, send an emergency call to the President! And to the Air Force! They need to bring that down!"

"Be my guest. If they can bring it down, that is. And even if they could it'll just crush this abode under its weight. I assume you'll take responsibility for that, Agent Johnson?" Twilight sneered.

"Huh! Damn it!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Neo Gospel's ultimate victory is near! Kneel before our power! There'll be a pitiful and pointless struggle which will make you lose all "hope"! I took care of your ace-in-the-hole too! "Abandon all hope, you who enter here"!"

"T-this must be a nightmare…!"

"A nightmare indeed! Be glad I didn't deploy the "Nightmare" weapon: it'd crushed you with its mighty destructive power!"

"Damn it…! Is there nothing we can do…? A miracle! We need a miracle!"

04:59 AM (Washington Time)

"… Diamond Blade!"

"Super Vulcan!"

"Neo Variable Sword!"

"Scope Gun!"

"Roll Arrow!"

"Explosion!"

"Justice Cannon!"

"Cutting Hat!"

Several "Cross Fusion" users were fighting hordes of Viruses while running down a corridor inside of the giant UFO: "CF" Netto, "CF" Blues, "CF" Search Man, "CF" Roll and "CF" Miyabi were some of them along with their friends and allies.

"Nelaus! Curzdos coming from behind!"

"I'll handle them!"

"CF" Nelahs' helmet was navy blue coloring: it had three square dots on the ear-pads and on the middle of the forehead which were colored golden, crystal and silver from left to right: a black matrix filled the rest of the helmet's surface.

On the space below the emblem and before the waist the alphabet letters "N" and "S" colored in a platinum color had been drawn: the "N" was on the left and the "S" to the right of the vertical line splitting the body in two.

His forearms' armor was different was transparent purple in color on the wrists and the Alphabet "N" letter colored green was set over it: the space over the palm had a black circle which contained a small red dot in the middle surrounded by different scales of red from dull red to crimson red.

The fingers had transparent red rings set on each one which glowed with a dull red glow.

His boots had slightly had red and black matrixes across their whole surface and they included some "eyes" (black edge, black body and a red dot) set on both sides of each boot.

"Davis! Estimated distance to the core section?"

"Another 35 meters!"

"Sheesh. How LONG is this damned corridor?"

"About 100 meters!"

"Seemed shorter from the outside…!"

"CF" Charle' design included red boots and forearms along with brown chest armor which had a golden cross set on the middle of it: matrixes of on/off squares colored green and blue spread across his forearms and legs.

His helmet's forehead had a blue hexagon-shaped jewel set on its center which was glowing with a pale sapphire glow: a mouth-guard having an outer golden edge and a main silver body was set over his mouth.

A backpack with two exhaust tubes colored silver and golden materialized and attached to his back while extending four red lines arching over his body.

These lines created a bluish ring around the chest emblem with four small black rectangles having a red dot on their center.

He had some extra armor coiling around his right arm too and he wielded a pyramidal energy saber (same as Omega) colored blue.

"Huff, huff… Then again… These hordes have been reducing our advance speed…! Lander! Scan ahead!"

"Spark Bees! About 100 of them!"

"CF" Martin had a coat of arms – like pattern on the helmet's forehead.

The shoulders were anatomically correct and had brown leather armor over them.

His arms and elbows were of a turquoise color.

The forearms (colored dust brown) had some black crisscrossing patterns drawn into them and which looked thicker than Lander's: they glowed with a soft blue glow as well from time to time.

His main body had the Alphabet letters "M" and "B" colored red and black each and set left and right beneath the shoulders.

A set of three parallel green lines descended from beneath each letter and then joined into a thick one which ended on a waist belt having two pouches for the Colts.

The legs contained two circling orange bands set above and below the knee which had metallic gray dots drawn at random inside of them.

The boots were white: they had a faint white color like they'd worn out.

He sported a cowboy – like hat colored brown and white over his head.

"Damned Twilight. So that's what he was up to! Intends to hold the White House staff hostage! Even if the President is on an official visit in Dallas there's still staff here!" "CF" Netto grumbled.

"The guy and his stupid sense of sarcasm! He took that of the "off-season" from Episode 345 of _Detective Conan_ which featured an "off-season" Halloween Party!" "CF" Blues complained.

"Huff, huff…! At least these Curzdos are easily cut up by my "Diamond Blade"… But it wouldn't surprise me if he readied some Viruses immune to this attack…!" "CF" Nelaus grumbled.

He was yielding a sword the blade of which was semi-transparent and obviously made of diamond: the hilt was made of gold and in the center of it there was Isaac's emblem: it easily cut the Curzdos Viruses with no effort as well.

"Explosion!"

"CF" Miyabi jumped into the air and threw a fireball at the Spark Bees which broke down into more fireballs on contact, each with enough attacking points to delete the Spark Bees: they began to see two large steel doors tightly closed.

"Watch out for the floor! Wouldn't surprise me if there's a trapdoor or something to make us fall off the UFO!" "CF" Roll warned.

"Good point. I'll take point! Search Grenades!"

"CF" Laika ignited his rear jets and hovered as he scanned the terrain: he tossed grenades that rolled across the ground but suddenly vanished a few meters before reaching the doors.

"You were right, Sakurai. The floor is a hologram there!"

"Thought so. But I readied something just in case. Materialize! Tiles!"

"CF" Roll pressed her hand on the ground a few centimeters before the fake floor and some floor tiles several centimeters thick formed there covering the hole.

"Watch out! Charge Shot!"

"Huh!? Whoa!"

"CF" Netto shot a thick black wire that shot out from a "portal" in the wall to the left of "CF" Roll and she jumped away to dodge it: more "portals" opened and more wires began to pop out and fly towards the "CF" members: they began to cut them while "CF" Nelaus turned invisible and began to try to cut through the doors with his "Diamond Blade" but he wasn't having much success.

"Damn. Talk about "flag retrieval"…" He muttered.

"The core area has jammers impeding direct warp there, too. But, wait… Maybe we can loophole them?" Isaac suggested.

"I see…!"

"CF" Nelaus took out one of the tiles "CF" Roll had formed and dropped into the abyss but igniting his boots' soils jets: he directed a quick glance at the rooftop of the White House before he attached to the bottom of the UFO and crawled across it heading for the core area: he then formed a black "Monolith" and attached it to the underside of the closed core hatches: the "Monolith" front vanished revealing a tunnel heading upwards: he flew upwards and emerged in the core area finding a giant reddish spheroid made of blocks of data hovering there some meters above the hatches: Twilight (with his Navi form) was hovering over it with a round platform and inputting commands on holographic displays while watching how the other "CF" users were struggling against the wires: another display showed his "Darkloids" fighting Omega, Blood Shadow, Sigma and Zero in the Science Labs' Cyber World.

"Hmpf! The other dogs are busy with the endless Viruses hordes. And thanks to my idea the annoying dog is trapped inside of his own security systems. Hah! No – one can stop our ultimate victory today!"

"That's what you thought, Ex – _Senpai_."

"Huh!? Nelaus!? How did you get here!?"

"CF" Nelaus openly announced his presence and Twilight gasped as he looked down towards him (literally).

"Trade secret."

He didn't make it obvious but he'd seen a familiar "portal" form behind Twilight along with a familiar emblem.

"There's no hole anywhere in the structure! Then how…?" He quickly looked at a diagnosis screen.

"Like I said, trade secret. Ask Lucy."

"Lucy!?"

"That's as far as you come, Twilight! Screen Divide!"

"Ugrah! Who the hell!?"

"You didn't include me in your calculations."

"Colonel!? Damn it! I'd forgotten about you lowlife!"

Colonel suddenly emerged from the "portal" and attacked Twilight with his "Screen Divide": the attack hit him from behind and he whipped around, snarling, as Colonel aimed his saber at him while hovering in the air.

"… Huh! Damn it! That alien's damned program! It also deleted my data about you!" He realized.

"Indeed. We knew you'd be more fixated in him than me so I was able to keep a low profile and wait for the right moment to intervene. Also, we did expect a ploy like the one you pulled on us."

"What kind of ploy was it?" "CF" Nelaus asked.

"Replacing Spark for a fake and since Spark has been given permissions to handle the spaceship's security he had Xon' Edos trapped within one of his "quarantine bays"… And deployed the outer shields to stop any Navis from the "Time – Space Tower" coming to help him. But they didn't account that I can use the "Past Tunnel" as well and I've been given permissions to enter the spaceship too."

"I see. So he did boil his brain this time, huh?"

"Grrrr!"

There was an explosion and the doors to the SW blew up as the other "CF" users ran into the core area.

"Grrr! Go, my servants!" Twilight growled.

"… _Alcor that twinkles in the freezing skies… The slashes' trajectory drawn by the seven blades… No – one shall remain after the snow melts… Silk Snow Seven Stars!_ "

A copy of Freeze Man (with his original form) appeared and suddenly frozen the whole room: it then shot upwards as icy pillars suddenly began to form vertically and horizontally across the room, forcing everyone to dodge them but "CF" Blues was caught in one and it turned into a giant snow flake: Freeze Man then reappeared and moved in all directions slashing seven times before warping and diving from above smashing the snow flake: "CF" Blues' form broke from the high damage and Enzan fell to the ground but "CF" Laika quickly caught him in mid-air: Feeeze Man landed on the ground, panted and groaned before self-deleting with that odd mirror effect: "CF" Netto picked the reformed PET which ejected a broken Synchro Chip.

"You alright?" "CF" Laika asked.

"Huh…! Somehow…! I was fortunate that it didn't get past the cyber-skin…! That asides, Blues…!"

"Under Shirt kept 1 HP and he's entered emergency shutdown mode to begin auto-healing." "CF" Netto reported.

"I'll warp you to the Science Labs." Vadous told them over the radio.

"Huh!? When did the jamming field get turned off!?" Twilight gasped as he looked at the screens.

"While you were looking at that." A voice rang out.

"YOU LOWLIFE~!"

Xon' Edos suddenly appeared in mid-air near the ceiling of the room: a device there had been cut into pieces: Twilight's face contracted into rage when seeing him.

"The impostor did take me off-guard but I had foreseen a similar case."

"Fuck! It was PERFECT!"

"There is nothing perfect. Not even the Universe is. How can small existences like us be?" Xon' Edos shrugged.

"Besides… Going by what info we extracted from your pawns a minute ago… This isn't your trump card." Vadous added.

"Huh!? What!?"

He looked back at the screen to see that Cloud Man was being held in the air by Annihilator Man gripping his neck with the right hand and Laser Man scanning his data with both hands gripping the head from behind: Zero and Omega had cornered Yamato Man, Blood Shadow and Sigma had driven Swallow Man to a corner, too, and Balrog and Destruction Man had beaten Cosmo Man as well: Axe Man and Needle Man were chasing Zoan Gate Man and destroying his "Remote Gates" as soon as he attempted to form one: Prism Man was dealing with some Garuu Viruses.

"You're like Sauron. When you pour your "mind" elsewhere your pawns lose the strength you gave them and make mistakes." Vadous taunted Twilight.

"Silence! I shall make you all despair! Go, my pawns! Show them what TRUE DESPAIR IS!"

Two grey-colored copies of Roll appeared, one in the UFO room they were in and the other in the Science Labs: both formed a purplish "aura" around them as they built up power.

"… _I shall play the Singing Fairy's song… Let us at least give the helpless aloof warrior… The serenity named "death"… Paradise's Ghost Song!"_

The "evil Roll" in the UFO suddenly began to emit sound waves sounding like a distorted piano melody and which spread around the room: most covered their hearing pads since the sounds were damaging for the hearing systems: Twilight tried to make a move but Colonel rushed towards him so Twilight snarled and formed two black blades with electricity running across their surface: he clashed blades with Colonel while he glanced at the other "evil Roll" in the Science Labs.

"… _I pour love from the depths of my heart… Comrades… Family… Return to this world once again… RESIDENT OF EDEN!"_

The other "evil Roll" formed copies of the 4 "Darkloids" with their original forms: Cloud Man formed a mass of clouds covering the area and limiting visibility, Swallow Man beat his wings to make them spread, Cosmo Man infused them with energy and Yamato Man hit the ground with the spear: the clouds released golden streams of energy in all directions and it was hard to see what was going on due to the poor visibility and the lack of audio output.

"We managed to pull out to one of the rendezvous locations, we'll use Procedure 4!" Zoan Gate Man reported.

"Fine! Wipe off all trails!"

"Roger!"

"Alright. Let us end this farce." Xon' Edos announced.

"Huh!? What are you up to…!? Huh!? The kids fled!"

"They didn't "flee". We told them to evacuate."

"Damn! The feral!"

Omega warped there: he had some burns and wounds from the earlier attack but despite that he was still in shape.

"We shall go back."

Xon' Edos spread his hands: the energy core hummed as it began to de-materialized followed by everything around them: Twilight gasped in disbelief as the central room de-materialized and they were left hovering in the air: the rest of the UFO structure followed suit until it was all gone from the sky over the White House: a "portal" formed and they all fell inside before it closed.

"… It… vanished!?"

The superior of the Secret Service agents along with all his men was still in the garden and looked on, awed.

"Does that mean that we're saved?" An agent asked.

"Don't lower the guard! Maybe the whole thing was a distraction to intrudce the White House itself! Agents on the inside, continue the search!"

03:04 PM (Utah Time)…

"… You wanted so badly to get inside, here we are."

"Now YOU will experience the quarantine bay efficiency."

"Eye for an eye."

"DAMN YOU ALL!"

The four of them had reappeared inside of Xon' Edos' spacecraft's Cyber World and witnessed as how Twilight was trapped inside of a bubble-shaped room with opaque walls through sensor feed: Twilight was cursing as he tried to force his way out of the bubble.

"Did the others get grave wounds?" Colonel asked Omega.

"We all had Dream Aura readied on cache memory so we managed to block most of those beams. I have to admit I wasn't expecting a move like that… And something tells me the guy has more of these "Special Skills" in store…" Omega shrugged.

"I'll drag you into HELL!"

"That means nothing for me." Xon' Edos was unfazed.

"Don't underestimate the power of the Dark Side of the Force! It's infinite, grand and invincible!"

"Shoo, shoo." Omega wasn't impressed.

"Hraaahhh!"

"Huh!? What!?"

Twilight suddenly began to glow with purplish light as purple light beams emerged from inside of him: a white flash ensued as white sphere of energy formed and began to expand triggering a shockwave: they all floated away from the cage as it was destroyed by the expanding energy wave: it eventually collapsed into itself after having expanded for some seconds' time.

"Damn it. That was a double?" Colonel cursed.

"Hmmm… Not exactly. Look."

"I see…"

Xon' Edos replayed at slow speed the footage of when the phenomenon began to happen: Twilight's armor blackened and began to split away in pieces from his body leaving his original "human form" exposed: Twilight floated away as the purplish energy core began to grow bigger as it sucked the armor pieces inside of it: Twilight's right hand palm glowed as he pressed a drawing's crest against the doors of the cage which opened just as the core detonated with a blinding white flash but they were able to see him floating out of the cage before the imagery was cut off abruptly by the explosion.

"He sacrificed the mass of his armor to cause his "Dark Generator" to go critical and turn into anti-matter." Xon' Edos resumed.

"That thing on the right hand, was it…?"

"Yes. Our flag. Also known as "Duo's Crest" because that Duo defective claimed it for his own. It would seem some systems were designed for holders of the crest to be accessible or maybe as an ID means. And the security system must have interpreted it as a command to open the doors from the outside."

"Knowing the rascal he's probably readied some means to sneak out of the place…"

"Indeed. There is a breach in the main gate about 40 cm wide formed by an anti-matter attack: I had lowered the shields so he must be about to exit the "Past Tunnel" by now. And even if we rush to the "Time – Space Tower" to try to intercept him before he warps he could try to take a scientist hostage." Xon' Edos brought up some information screens and zoomed into some data.

"Yeah. Sadly enough there's no point in chasing the guy since he'll shake us off… We were THIS close… Again." Omega grumbled.

"Conflicts never end easily." Colonel warned.

"I know. But you're THIS CLOSE… And they get away! Shit! We got too confident here. This isn't the first time he's pulled something like this on us, he did it back when the DNN battle."

"I see. Well, we now know that we must be on the look-out."

"Yeah. Because he'll begin spamming this."

"We also know that they weren't staking all in this plan and that it was a diversion while they finish "Site B" whatever it is. Apparently it'll be done in "a few days" but obviously none of the 4 grunts knew how much it was done or what it was. They know that they're stationed in "Site B" but since they can only use the simulator and most of the time they're put in capsules to switch them off then they barely have any idea of what kind of place is it. They all seem to assume it's underground but it doesn't have to be necessarily the case." Vadous explained over the radio.

"We must be very careful with keeping the materialization technology to low-scale." Colonel warned.

"Yeah. The Science Labs have already modified their data to make it look like it's still very crude, and hard to implement. Once we bring down Neo Gospel we must make sure to destroy their data about that least it reach other terrorists."

"Yes. According to the records, my creators, before planetary unity and disarming, they competed with data materialization to see who could create the best "infinite weapon"… There were several small skirmishes over a course of 3 years before they realized that there was no such "infinite weapon" and attempts to do so could destroy the whole world if they did not stop." Xon' Edos narrated.

"Because they were trying to extract energy from the planet itself, foolishly thinking it was infinite?" Omega deduced.

"Indeed."

"More reasons to hide away this technology. With the current state of the world it is a dangerous thing. I know, it can't be compared to nuclear weapons but… It could be a tool that could bring upon chaos if misused indeed…" Colonel sighed.

"Sulking won't lead anywhere. We need to rest. We keep on chasing potential leads but they keep on turning empty but I don't desist. It's possible that they're hiding amongst one of those leads thinking that we'll eventually give up."

"Yeah… The more time it passes, the more probabilities of a bad outcome rise. Damn it." Omega hissed.

"Bad outcome?" Xon' Edos frowned.

"I mean… Maybe they actually begin giving it to other groups so that they keep on the terrorism even if they are defeated."

"Ah yes. That would be a very bad outcome indeed."

"Dr. Spimer has incorporated his 3 agents and Colonel Morgan on our searches too. We're all coordinated. And, like we expected, Anaya and Opoulos are spreading rumors to try to discredit the members of the "Council of Armies"… But since they are baseless rumors they're not having much of an effect." Vadous sighed.

"Cutting off hours of sleep again, Boss?" Omega guessed.

"Huff. Yeah. I can barely sleep with this tension. And I don't want to rely on sleeping pills either."

"Oh well. We'll discuss that when I get back there. Alright, Xon' Edos. I'm leaving. But be careful, the rascal might use that "crest" to sneak back inside."

"I shall revoke its permissions immediately." Xon' Edos nodded in understanding.

"Good. I'm off."

"I'll go speak to the "Time – Space Tower" staff to see if we can reinforce security. I don't think Twilight will be desperate enough to try to alter history through it but just in case." Colonel told him.

"Good point, Colonel. I shall try to alter it so that you cannot "time-travel" into other ages… And that you have to go through here. I shall later suggest improvements to the equipment as well so that he cannot alter it to his needs." Xon' Edos rubbed his chin with the right hand.

"As for Spark, Anderson is examining him in case they inputted something on him like a spy program or so. He will send him here with Annihilator Man once they're done checking it."

"Acknowledged."

Colonel also "flew" away while Xon' Edos sighed and inputted some commands to go over the footage again.

"I must go and use the data of Cosmo Man to get a better idea of the workings of this weapon… This is far from over indeed…"


	11. Chapter 11: Of owls

**Chapter 11: Of owls**

17:13 PM (Japan Time), Monday April 17th…

"… Ahem, ahem! Did you know?"

"What now, Yaito – chan?"

"Miss Joke & Co. is back on the city!"

"Oh not that again."

"Starting with freezing chilling strawberry ice-cream!"

"Yes, yes. We know you love strawberry."

"And with the cooperation of Mr. Cooper!"

"Mr. Cooper? From _Big Bang Theory_? Huff!"

"He'll bring blessings! Tee, heh, heh!"

Yaito was talking to Meiru and Tamashita as they rode on her limousine towards her house: she was making some silly jokes so both girls sighed and rolled their eyes along with their Navis.

"And then something HORRID happened!"

"Nothing happened. We know that one." Roll sighed.

"Predictable." Felicia sighed, too.

"By the way, Scherezade is staying at your place for now, right?"

"Yeah. She handles security and trains with the simulator. I think Glyde has a crush for her!" She laughed.

"W-what is a "crush", Yaito – sama?" Glyde asked, horrified.

"It's a popular term to say you like her. The so-called "love"…"

"I never really understood the concept."

"No wonder. As much as AI development advances, there are things that we can't understand because they're biological reactions." Roll calmly crossed her arms.

"You never know!"

"We know, Yaito – chan. Stop fooling around."

"Else your daddy scolds you."

"YIKES!"

"Oi, Ayanokouji! Trouble!" Scherezade reported over the radio.

"A maid wants to propose to you?"

"Oh come on! I don't dislike lesbians but now it's hardly the moment to make jokes! There's an intruder!"

"What!? Who is it? Neo Gospel?"

"Yeah, that odd guy with the black outfit! Who calls himself "Talon" and speaks about some "Court of Owls"!"

"Darth Bapgei, huh? I guess he wanted his share of the action too. No surprise there." Meiru wasn't surprised.

"Sheesh. How did they get in? The jammers…"

"Bapgei is a human so jammers don't stop him."

"I see! What about the garden security and all?"

"He doesn't appear in any camera. And it'd seem he appeared all of a sudden from the storeroom next to the kitchen. Dunno how. For the time being I'm searching for the guy because he appears and disappears: hasn't broken anything but hasn't made any demands yet either." Scherezade explained.

"Then maybe he's looking for a brawl. I guess his aim is Nelaus – kun but maybe he needs a reminder of the kick I delivered him some time ago. Heh, heh." Meiru grinned.

"Whoa. You're scary, Meiru – chan!" Yaito gulped.

"When she feels like it…" Tamashita shrugged.

"This is obviously a smokescreen to hide that they still need time to finish their "Site B" whatever it is. They probably won't dare to make a bold move after what happened yesterday." Roll thought aloud.

"Obviously."

"Oh, there. We've arrived."

"Excellent."

The limo entered the perimeter and drove up to the main entrance: the doors were open and the maids making a row on both sides to welcome: the door opened and the red carpet rolled out: Yaito walked along it followed by Meiru and Tamashita.

"Welcome back, Yaito – sama."

"Thank you. None of you got attacked by the intruder?"

"No."

"Alright. How's the hunt going like, Scherezade – chan?"

"He was hiding inside of a bathroom and trying to scare me by muttering "REDRUM"… You know, from that movie… _The Shining_ , by Stanley Kubrick…" Scherezade fumed.

"How silly." Roll sighed.

"How the mighty have fallen. He's no better than a circus' clown. He doesn't impress anyone." Felicia shrugged.

"REDRUM… REDRUM…"

"Kyah! Yaito – sama, there…!"

"Huh? Ah! There you are!"

A figure suddenly appeared standing atop the handrail of the first floor hall next to the stairs and looking down (literally) on the hall.

His outfit consisted on black leather clothes which covered his whole body including a hood with goggles: it design was reminiscent of an owl's face, even.

He carried a belt spanning from the right shoulder to the left flank of his body and which had sheaths for 6 knives: it included a medallion with the drawing of an owl close to the shoulder.

Other equipment included gauntlets: the right one had metallic armor shaped like an owl's face and the left one had some sheaths for smaller knives.

The guy carried leather boots as well and two knife sheaths attached to the belt's waist.

His gear included two short swords' sheaths attached to his back.

"The Court of Owls has sentenced you to… Despair!" He announced in English.

"What?" Yaito frowned.

"He says that "the Cout of Owls has sentenced you to despair"… How stupid." Roll translated.

"There! Don't run away, rascal! You're gonna spit it out!"

Scherezade ran towards him having a Long Sword drawn and from behind: Bapgei chuckled and jumped into the air to flip and land on the ground while crossing his arms and extending several knives from both closed hands: the maids ran outside while he rushed for the trio: Meiru calmly ducked and delivered a blow to the stomach which stopped him but he merely back-flipped and threw the knives at them: they all dived for the ground as the knives flew past and landed a couple meters behind them: Bapgei jumped over them and headed there but Scherezade warped there and delivered a kick to his waist: Bapgei landed on his feet, unfazed, as he drew more knives which he threw at Scherezade but she formed a Mettool helmet which deflected them: she spotted him jumping over her and trying to attack her from behind but she whipped around and shot a Mega Cannon at him: an energy field instantly protected him but the blast did push him backwards at the same time the recoil pushed Scherezade backwards too.

"This guy is apparently a masochist so he doesn't mind pain. Unless you deliver a really painful blow, that is." Meiru warned.

"I see. Hey, you rascal! You're gonna go bald!"

"REDRUM… REDRUM…"

"Your boss will make you drink that "red rum" to see if that makes you stronger! He boasted that in Twitter the other day!"

"Wha!?" He gasped, surprised.

"Gotcha."

Scherezade took profit of his surprise to form a golden fist and deliver a blow to the energy shield: she applied force against it and a loud whim began to ring out nearby before a device attached to his back overheated and exploded.

"Shit!"

"He gives you crappy stuff from the 90s!"

"Sheesh! That's not it! It's but a prototype!" He grumbled.

"He must be trying to invent a serum from gin and vodka to heat you up! He's worse than Snape!"

"Gdjghkhba!" He growled something undecipherable.

"Gotcha! Take THIS!"

"OUWAH!"

Scherezade suddenly warped right in front on him and lifted her right leg to hit his ball from beneath, and with force: he groaned and instinctively gripped them as Scherezade spun her left leg next and hit his jaw from beneath: he gripped it next as Scherezade suddenly gripped his clothes and performed a _judo_ throw to toss him into the ground: Roll and Felicia materialized and shot Yo-Yo wires at him to tie him up.

"So much for the Court of Owls." Roll mocked.

"That's not FAIR!" He growled.

"This is a war, kiddo. In case you hadn't realized yet." Felicia mocked him next.

"Sheesh! That's the best you can do, Bapgei!?" Anaya complained over his radio.

"I'm a human! I have limits!" He groaned.

"I thought you were immune to pain!"

"Being a masochist doesn't mean being immune to pain! You like it and turn it into pleasure but as long as it's not overwhelming pain which runs across your whole body!"

"Sheesh! Just you wait, you lil bitches! Once I'm done training this bitch into my slave I'll do the same with all of you!"

A Dimensional Converter emerged right next to them and warped Bapgei away while the girls fumed.

"You don't impress anymore!"

18:09 PM (Japan Time)…

"… The data we gained from the "Darkloids" suggests that "Site B", whatever it is, will be ready very soon… I think it'll be something like what they pulled yesterday…"

"Very probable. Maybe another rip-off, since they're so fond of them. Problem is… This time around they might use the hostage as human shield to impede us from retaliating…"

"That's the worrisome part indeed…"

A meeting was being held in a conference room of the Net Police HQ: Commissioner Kifune, Superintendent Manabe, Netto, Saito, Nelaus, Enzan, Laika, Charles and Martin were present.

"The attack by Bapgei a while ago felt improvised. I guess that it was a random fancy idea by Ex – Boss." Nelaus deduced.

"Given how she was the one ordering him and not Twilight then it's very probable that it's the case." Isaac added.

"There's another factor to take into account… Apart from Neo Gospel. That odd mafia guys who hired those fakes to try to abduct me. Do we have an idea of their scale?" Enzan brought up.

"According to information Colonel Talos gathered through some of his contacts they're about 8-10 including their leader. He has a hunch of who is it and is trying to find a way through his contacts to reach him. But he's being very careful least he catch a hold or a hint that we're closing on him and vanish." Manabe reported.

"Alright. They should be our next priority after Neo Gospel is taken care of: they could be prove to be more dangerous than the leftovers of Anaya's "Secret Empire"…"

"Good point." Kifune nodded in agreement.

"Once Neo Gospel is no more Bapgei won't be able to act anymore. We can't take actions about him because the info we gathered in him is not totally legal and he's a minor so… It would be better to leave him as he is since he's not dangerous." Laika suggested.

"Yes, that's what we'd agreed upon."

"So if "Site B" is the base where Twilight and the Darkloids are at then I guess that the hideout of the human members is "Site A"… But as to where it's at… I guess that not even Zoan Gate Man knows it. They're being very careful here." Blues deduced.

"Obviously enough." Search Man shrugged.

"According to an investigation by Dr. Spimer and his agents, they've been burning down drug clan warehouses without bothering to steal the drugs… Which is odd." Martin reported.

"True. Why would they?" Manabe wondered.

"Maybe it's a means to say they've got more than enough? Or a smokescreen to make us think they're trying to drive the clans to economic ruin." Charles suggested.

"Hum. What about Vincent?" Kifune asked.

"Acting like an idiot, as always. We keep tabs on the guy but neither Cloud Man nor Swallow Man have dropped by ever since our raid in the Deadly Pandora base. Which is still under surveillance, of course. We've added watch on the Atomic Network base, and the facility that the Filibusters of Death had as well. No traces of anyone having come in there for a long time…" Davis detailed.

"Hmmm… How about the base that the Rama members Priest, Past, Present and Future along with the two deserters used? I supposed you inspected it as well?"

"Obviously, sir. Annihilator Man told us they keep watch there but since they'd made sure to dismantle anything important then… There's not anything valuable left there anymore." Lander replied.

"The previous Neo Gospel base, the Nebula space station, was de-orbited and all modules were seized and kept custody by different space agencies… How about Nebula facilities? Or Gospel facilities?"

"Yuriko is still using the refuge she used when she worked for Nebula so she's sure they aren't there. The tanker got docked years ago… But what became of it, speaking of which?" Netto wondered.

"Hmmm… I think it was bought by a cargo shipping company years ago, I should check again… Maybe they're there, even…"

"Good. But let's be discrete." Manabe suggested.

"Of course. We will make enquires posing as investors. That should loosen their tongues, they're always eager for investors."

"As for Gospel facilities… Wily and Miyabi check the Gospel HQ building but they found nothing…" Saito sighed.

"We brought a search warrant and checked the Gauss Console HQ building as well but we didn't find traces of anyone else living there apart from Gauss Magnets and Tesla Magnets." Manabe reported.

"Too obvious of place to begin with but seeing how they were re-using the Deadly Pandora base then it wouldn't have been surprising if they'd been hiding there…" Sigma muttered.

"As they say… "The darkest place is under the candlestick"… They could be somewhere that's actually in plain sight but hidden because something else overshadows it…" Blood Shadow argued.

"Speaking of which… Maybe that UFO thing actually hints at their "Site B" being some rip-off from a Sci-Fi movie?" Laika suggested.

"As long as it's not the Death Star…" Enzan grumbled.

"Even with data materialization it'd be too huge… And even if you keep it empty on the inside… The mass would be too big to handle and data stability would be hard… The UFO was stable because it was still a decent size, and that must be why he couldn't recreate the ones from the movie _Independence Day_ …" Davis argued.

"Hmmm… Maybe they can hijack satellites images to make us believe it's appeared there on orbit… Such as the Hubble Space Telescope… We should send a warning just in case…" Charles thought aloud.

"I don't think they're being that careful just for the sake of a simple and cheap fake imagery trick…" Martin argued next.

"Maybe they can use it as a smokescreen…" Kifune suggested.

"Did the analysis of the files from the other Darkloids give out any other possible hints?" Enzan asked Netto.

"As far as I know, no. They share the simulator but outside of that time they must stay shut down in their capsules."

"To avoid them roaming around… And finding out what "Site B" is about… Obviously enough… It's plain dull steel with fluorescent lamps. We can't be sure if it's physical or materialized data or if it's in the Cyber World. Which would make sense but…" Saito sighed.

"Speaking of hideouts in the Cyber World… How about the Darkloid castle that Regal built for the original Darkloids?" Enzan brought up.

"Detective Misaki and Prism Man have been investigating the place but found nothing either. They're keeping watch there too since Neo Gospel did use that place back when their "debut season"…" Manabe explained to them as she checked some notes.

"The Gospel Virus Factory ruins? Twilight used it as a meeting point for his "Legion 66"…" Martin asked.

"Is already under surveillance since some weeks ago."

"Hmmm… The WWW base?" Sigma wondered.

"Miyabi and the WWW members with Dr. Wily searched everything and found nothing." Blood Shadow told him.

"I agree that it's a good idea to go over all locations used by criminals in the past because they could be using that psychology of "we won't check those places twice" but the fact that they've taken some many steps to compartmentalize intelligence means that it's somewhere new we have no idea about." Kifune told all assistants.

"It could be closer than we think, too. They could always disguise to pose as a family of the father, the son or daughter and the son-in-law or daughter-in-law…" Manabe thought aloud.

"Very possible. If they could infiltrate the Ayanokouji house staff without anyone noticing then it wouldn't be surprising. Or when they posed as workers of some company, too." Netto recalled.

"Sorry for being late. Was helping Boss and the others check the HQ for possible stuff those rascals left behind. Insofar we found nothing and Xon' Edos gave us a hand in readying counter-measures as well." Omega appeared on Netto's PET.

"I see. Did they manage to steal vital data from him through that fake Guilty Spark?" Kifune asked.

"No, fortunately enough. Xon' Edos only gave access to Spark to the basic security systems and some videos about inventions by his creators but they were but demonstration videos with no technical details on how they work like or how they are assembled. To go along with the role-play he added some files about the Forerunners of the _Halo_ series but they were all of public domain so…" Omega described.

"Good. So we mustn't fear an abuse of his technology for now." Kifune nodded in agreement, relieved.

"No. He rewrote security systems so that the "crest" is no longer a valid password to access systems in the "space city" and he moved all data from the computer there to his spaceship databanks while splitting some in partitions which he hid in private accounts there and there over the net with different names each. So even if Twilight could've seized the data he'd only have a portion of it which wouldn't be useful."

"Alright. Never put too many eggs in one basket."

"Hmm? Ah. A phone call from Misaki – kun. How is it?" Manabe answered a call to her PET.

"Superintendent, ma'am. We search all nooks and crannies but found nothing out of place or traces of anyone having used this location recently. We are finishing installing security sensors and surveillance Viruses before we return to the HQ." Misaki reported.

"Good work. Send me the report once it's done."

"Roger, ma'am. Over."

"We will chase all possible lines of investigation. But don't neglect training. The enemy still saves up aces up their sleeves. That is all. Disband!" Kifune concluded the meeting.

"Roger!"

Kifune and Manabe left the room while the others began to chat amongst themselves as they stood up: they didn't spot a figure glancing at them through the gap between the right door and the hinges: the figure smirked and silently left with no-one noticing them: Omega frowned and looked around as if he'd perceived something.

 _My imagination…? Let's not lower the guard… Sheesh. Damned cowards!_

23:43 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Sheesh!"

"You are still annoyed?"

"Of course!"

"I think you expected too much out of Bapgei. I'm not saying he's not capable but he's a human like us, not a Darkloid like Twilight. He's not all-powerful or a Batman carbon copy, ma'am."

"I knew that!"

"Excuse me, but you don't seem to."

"Sheesh!"

"You always told me my role is fix mistakes."

"I know that! Sheesh!"

Anaya was sitting on the living room of their apartment and impatiently tapping the edge of the table with her right fingers: Izono stood to her right and facing her in a firm pose with his hands crossed behind his back as if he was a butler: Anaya was annoyed while Izono was calm and collected.

"But Twilight! The guy! So much for "immortal flesh"! Fails over and over and OVER AGAIN!"

"We also do, ma'am. Even Mr. Opoulos fell for the trap by the competency… Despite his foresight and wisdom. We are not perfect, ma'am. No – one and nothing is." Izono argued back.

"… Sheesh. Yeah, even Kranos got tricked by those idiots… But then again a lot of successes are thanks to him…"

"Also, despite his failures it's not like the others grow stronger. It's just that their will is stronger. The so-called "sense of justice"… It's true that we've done things which are "illegal" and "amoral" but then again we only picked up on an existing business. We did not invent it. Cyber – terrorism was started by the WWW as well." Izono calmly argued next.

"Yeah, of course! Hmpf! Bunch of hypocrites. They fear me because I united all those businesses under my rule!"

"Yes. Because they rather prefer that they kill each other. History has proven that, when they feel like it, states can suppress "freedom" to fight an external or internal threat… Like how Ameroupe financed dictators to keep communism at bay… They mad such a huge fuss over it for nothing… The might USSR eventually collapsed on its own… In the end communism is not much different from capitalism. It sounds nice on the paper but reality is reality given human nature."

"Hmpf! Indeed!"

"Also, all of our efforts aren't in vain."

"Of course not."

"After all, they're part of the grand scheme which…"

"Grand scheme? What grand scheme?" She frowned and turned to look at Izono, puzzled.

"Huh? The grand scheme, ma'am. The one we've been fighting to make a reality all these years." Izono frowned, too.

"Huh!? What are you talking about? Grand scheme? Where did you get the idea, anyway?"

"Huh!? Excuse me, ma'am, but… Isn't that why you decided to create those 4? For the sake of the grand scheme? You said it back then… "These guys will be part of a grand scheme: with them our rule shall be absolute and no-one will stop us! I will be the Queen that will rule over all! Absolute and eternal!"… I did record it with the MR I always carried on me and listen to it from time to time to find motivation to go on despite the hardships…" Izono detailed.

"Huh!? I said THAT!? Me!?" She looked baffled.

"Yes, ma'am. Here."

Izono brought out a MR recording device from his chest's right pocket and activated it.

"… Listen up, Marco! These guys will be part of a grand scheme: with them our rule shall be absolute and no-one will stop us! I will be the Queen that will rule over all! Absolute and eternal!" Anaya's recorded voice exclaimed.

"By all the… I'd totally forgotten. You're right!"

"… Ahem. I hope this isn't what I think it is." Izono began to get annoyed, for once.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Excuse me, ma'am, if I am too blunt but… In your mind, what was the purpose of creating those four?"

"The purpose? Well, to recreate _Metal Gear_ … And to get perfect servants who would never dare to rebel no matter how many times I insulted and humiliated them… To use them as mold to shape perfect male slaves who would serve me without the need of brainwashing…"

"… So it was all… _a jest?_ For fun? A caprice?" He suddenly leant his hands on the table as he diagonally looked at Anaya.

"Sure." She didn't hesitate.

"… So you never saw a useful servant on me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Excuse me, but… I thought you were being SERIOUS about the GRAND SCHEME! MA'AM!" He hissed but without losing his manners.

"Eeeehhhh!? You were!? But I said it because I felt like it, I was cocky and I felt in a very good mood! You thought I was being serious? You'd already been around me for many years by then!"

"Yes, and I know how you can make jest of things often but… We were talking about _creating life_! It was no longer picking men and women and turning them into sex slaves! _Creating life_! Do you understand the implications of it!? We stepped into the territory of the Gods! We had a huge responsivity! Future generations would judge us! We were about to open a Pandora's Box! It might've been the key to heal chronic diseases, and maybe the key to more power!" Izono hissed.

"Eeeehhh!? You thought ALL OF THAT!?"

"I DID! MA'AM!" He growled.

"W-well…"

"Excuse me!"

"W-where are you going to!?"

"I need to wash my face! Else I shall not be able to withstand this rage cursing through my blood! Ma'am!"

Izono left the living room while Anaya gulped: someone cleared their throat and she gasped as Opoulos walked in: he looked rather displeased as well.

"I was about to come report something but I heard Mr. Izono's voice. I feel very disappointed as well."

"Eeeehhh!? You also believed all I did was part of some "grand scheme" as well, Kranos!?"

"I did, I did. That's the idea I formed as I investigated your activities and decided to start an alliance with you because it sounded amusing and I wanted to see how far you would come." He sighed.

"B-but why did you two…?"

"Like Mr. Izono said… It was about _creating life_. It was a serious business, which meant a lot of responsibility… Yet you only thought of the whole thing as a joke, a jest…"

"Exactly! I raised all of them telling them they were necessary and that their efforts would culminate in the achievement of the grand scheme! With a lot of passion and devotion! Are you telling me that all my efforts I've done have been IN VAIN!?" Izono walked back in.

"N-no, not in vain, but… Hum… Well…"

"I owe you a lot, ma'am. After that incident… I was empty of life and purpose. I didn't care about anything. I thought of just going and dying if I was so meaningless for both my parents and for those around me, my teachers and my classmates… But you, ma'am, granted me a purpose. By serving you I would ascend and become above those hypocrites, those spoiled brats… That's why I've followed you all this time. And when you told me those words my motivation increased. I would be the teacher of the men who would contribute to complete the grand scheme. They would look up to me as their instructor. And I as my greatest students. That's how I felt!" Izono explained, barely holding his anger.

"No… way…" Anaya's jaw hit the floor.

"I'm DISAPPOINTED. VERY. DISAPPOINTED. MA'AM!"

"Same applies to me. Come this far we're not calling it quits, obviously, but depending on the outcome of things… We might have to rethink our relationship. I don't like being disappointed. Had way too many when I was in the FBI. And you were the one who inspired me to begin "Deadly Pandora" as well… Now it turns out there was no such grand scheme and it was just words said to make things sound grand. You're no better than a politician in that case, young miss." Opoulos lectured.

"Well… When you put it like that…" She gulped.

"One who doesn't realize the consequence of their actions is a fool. Now I see it, why those 3 quit… It's true that in Nelaus' case we treated him like a dumb idiot despite his intelligence. But he believed in the grand scheme… At the beginning. But with your attitude, ma'am, he began to feel like he wasn't needed to fulfill it."

"And I guess the other two must've realized it as well. That they were no "new humans", no "pieces of the grand scheme"… They were but a jest! Nothing but a joke... Worse! A mere caprice. And when they were no longer useful they would be disposed of. They'd been created but they could be killed… Their instincts must've told them to flee before that happened… Which is why they turned against you… To protect themselves..."

"I won't tell Twilight, of course. But nevertheless… We will need to talk about our relationship once the "Site B" is finished and we carry out the so-called "great decisive battle"… Do you realize what means when you tell someone their efforts over the course of YEARS have been in vain? All the passion, all the patience, all the endurance?"

"I think you should reflect about it, young miss. Else there's no future for any of us."

Opoulos and Izono left towards the right while Anaya was left sitting on the chair of the living room, pale and looking totally stunned.

"No… way… Just because of that…? Just because of that, all will now crumble apart…? No…! My rule…! My empire…! They will come to be! No matter what…!" She began to mutter as her face contracted into fury.

She violently stood up and looked out to the night skies.

 _I'll bury you dogs once and for all! My fate is to rule! Just you wait…!_


	12. Chapter 12: Planner

**Chapter 12: Planner**

18:38 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday April the 19th…

"… Twilight – sama, sir?"

"Ah. Freeze Man. How's the status?"

"Construction is on schedule: 99.5% completed. We should be finished in the next couple of hours."

"Good. Then we begin the test phase."

"You look troubled, sir."

"… Heh. You noticed? Well… It's just that… I feel like I'm going to overlook someone or something again in the calculations…"

"Ah. I see, sir."

Freeze Man stepped into a large cylindrical room somewhere having a spiral stair circling the perimeter and spreading up and downwards: a big device could be seen on the ceiling: transparent glass-like tubes ran across the middle of the stairs although they were empty now.

"Anyway. I did some modifications to the original design for optimization of space… How's the trap placement going like?"

"Mostly finished. The men have no idea of the scale, of course. I'm scanning their data constantly."

"Excellent."

"But I'm still concerned about the materialized data stability. Nobody has attempted such a scale before." Freeze Man warned.

"I know. I had enough with the "Site B" itself but IQ – sama wanted to fully recreate the whole deal to leave a bigger impact. Else she said it felt like a cheap copy of _Star Wars_." Twilight rolled his eyes.

"I see. I did suspect it was the case, sir."

"Bah. Feel free to criticize, it's not my idea to begin with. I just wanted to simply go to _kyoudai_ 's base and challenge him there like I've done before but IQ – sama wouldn't hear of it. I know I screwed up several times but then again the man has his limitations. But well… Orders are orders. Can't be helped."

"Is that so?"

"I still retain some feelings of when I was a human. And one of them is tiredness. I'm growing tired… I feel more and more like all these campaigns have been but attempts to deceive myself into believing I was all-powerful…" He sighed.

"Now that you mention it, sir… All we have achieve are some damaging blows in terms of psychological warfare but… Not much in terms of real warfare…" Freeze Man admitted.

"Exactly. See what happened with our demonstration in London. A group of idiots campaigning claiming it was a hoax, like the moon landing denial or the flat-Earth fools… Or those who seek conspiracies everywhere. Despite out failures, though, our technological power makes us be feared behind closed doors… However! This power is our and ours alone. I set all important data to self-destruct in case something happened to us and to avoid idiots from copying us."

"Wise move, sir."

"Yeah. Last thing I want is a bunch of copycats trying to overshadow the impression we're going to leave behind in history. As much cover-ups they attempt to do and truth distortion… They can't erase 3 years of campaign! True, other parties might've taken the spotlight from time to time but we've survived despite all."

"Indeed, sir."

"But! We aren't indestructible."

"… True, sir. Sadly enough, sir."

"But we'll at least go down with glory, having infused terror in the whole world… Those apocalypse movies they all love to make and see will have become a reality… Of course, this doesn't imply destruction of civilization like _Metal Max_ but…"

"They shall regret having taken us lightly, thinking we could only make a big fuss over nothing."

"Exactly."

"Excellent, sir."

"Hmpf! They will surely try to depict me as a "mad scientist" and I don't care! Unlike Regal and Oozono, I don't need a defective alien who believes to be a God to turn me into a super-human!"

"Truly, sir!"

"At least _kyoudai_ did us a favor by throwing that thing into the deeps of the Milky Way… Hope it runs into some black hole and gets sucked inside to be destroyed. Hah! Deserves it."

"Back to the earlier topic, sir… If the whole mass de-stabilizes or crumbles, it's predicted that it will de-materialized on its own before it can hit the ground…"

"Alright. How are the "sub-sites" construction like? Almost finished, I assume?"

"Yes. Placed several traps and decoys there to contribute to the illusion that they will need to send forces there and take control of them to turn off the barrier shielding "Site B"… This will us buy time until we can fire the 4 shots needed to create the "armor"…" Freeze Man replied as he displayed a series of graphs.

"Good work. It was a good idea to use automated Navis for the construction of those sites. This way our men don't have any idea of their existence or purpose. The most they are kept in the dark, the less chances of the others figuring out our plans."

"Speaking of which, sir… Thanks to our hacking into the FSB databases and by checking physical archives… We established the identity of the so-called "Ice Schemer"… As for his location… We're still on it but we believe he's in Densan City." Freeze Man reported.

"Ice Schemer? Hah. They're laughing at Ice Queen – sama! " Twilight laughed.

"And to you, sir. You used the title "Shadow Schemer" before, didn't you, sir? So that's why I decided to chase them."

"Hmpf. Excellent. Although I did steal the title from a _Detective Conan_ character but, oh well… If they're in Densan City then it's pretty clear he's after my _half-brothers_ …"

"I still fail to see why he bothers, though."

"Well, it's because you guys aren't moved by impulses or by instinct unlike humans. You don't have a concept of "lust"… It's true that I implemented that into Forte years ago as part of an experiment… Ironic, isn't it? The guy was derived from Pharaoh Man who had no conceptions of that either but somehow, after taking a humanoid form, the guy was able to feel more like humanoid Navis…" Twilight smirked.

"I see. What should we do about the man?"

"Continue chasing him without him noticing. If you get a possible hint of a location tell me at once. I'd like to meet the man myself and tell him what happens to those who get in the way of the "Secret Empire"… And that only I or IQ – sama can deal with my _half-brothers_ …"

"Understood, sir!"

"You may leave."

"Roger, sir."

Freeze Man warped out of the room while Twilight let out a sigh and looked up: he warped as well into a metallic round room having four 3D projectors projecting a central image of a gigantic diamond over a control console: Twilight sat on the armchair behind the console and began to interact with it to bring up several graphs.

 _I did place a wiretap in "Site A" just in case they needed my help but couldn't contact me… And to think I heard that discussion between IQ – sama, Mr. Izono and Mr. Opoulos… So all my loyalty, devotion, admiration, efforts… They weren't to complete a grand scheme… I was just there to be humiliated forever, to be a joke, a parody… For that reason I dared to overcome time-space and travel to other "universes"? Hah… What a fool I've been… Guess my transformation into a Net Navi dulled my original human senses and instincts… Those two saw it coming… That one day IQ – sama wouldn't find us amusing… And would dispose of us… To eventually come up with a new entertainment… If we'd been normal humans forcibly recruited into the organization, that'd been understandable but… We were CREATED just for that?_

He reclined the chair and looked elsewhere but his face depicted worry, for once, and dissatisfaction: sighing, he stood up and walked around the console as if trying to change his mood.

 _I'm not going to call it quits come this far but… This plan will surely end up foiled, anyway… Meh. A last struggle to leave a strong impression… I've already drawn up an idea of the aftermath… And what I'll do afterwards… It'll be like a repeat of what I did in the past… But oh well. It works so… Meh._

"Warning. Warning."

"Huh! What?!"

"Unauthorized personnel attempting to enter "Central Shaft"… First security barrier is down."

"What the hell?"

Twilight gasped as an alarm followed by an auto-voice rang out: he brought up footage and it was Cloud Man shooting at energy barriers shielding a couple of doors at the end of a corridor.

"CLOUD MAN! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? DID YOU THINK I WOULDN'T PLACE AN ALARM THERE!?" He yelled over a mike and his voice echoed through the PA system.

"YIKES!" He gasped.

"LAST CHANCE! GET BACK TO YOUR CAPSULE OR I'LL HAVE YOU BROOM THE GREAT WALL OF CHOINA!"

Cloud Man ran away as if he was going to be slaughtered alive and Twilight grumbled under his breath.

"I'll upgrade the resistance of the barriers! Stupid moron. As for that Vincent madman… Let's ignore the guy. Not worth bothering over the idiot… One day his "buddies" will be kicked out of their posts and he's the one who'll end up in trouble. Hmpf." He fumed.

He began to input commands to improve upon the door barriers as he hummed a tune to try to distract himself.

 _Meh. I'll go watch some old Batman episodes to kill the time. If not there's always Big Bang Theory. I'll send a warning to the other three, too! Try something funny, I'm having you broom the Great Wall, too! Can't let those idiots loose or they might reveal this place without intending it! I must prevent that, at all costs!_

19:17 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Excuse me."

"Yes, sir? How can I help you, sir?"

"My name is Talos, from the Committee."

"Ah, yes. I had been told by Superintendent Manabe that you would be coming over, sir."

"Good. I shall be waiting on the 4th floor, then."

"Understood, sir."

A man had come to the Net Police HQ and was talking to the policeman in charge of the front desk.

The visitor, Talos, looked as being on his late forties: his hair was grey and parts of it fell down in the front of the face and he seemed to be missing his left eye as well.

He was dressed in a grey army uniform, although the area around the sleeves and neck was colored in a reddish patch: he had a distinction on the right side of the uniform just underneath the right shoulder.

Talos headed for the elevators stepped in one: he pressed the 4th floor button and it headed up: it stopped there and he exited into the corridor in front of the conference room's double doors: a paper had been placed on one of the doors with the words "important meeting" on it: Talos grabbed a plastic cup from the water distributor and served some water on it which he drank before tossing the cup into the garbage bin: he then sat down on a chair a few meters to the right of the doors and picked the day's newspapers to begin reading them.

 _They've been meeting for about 1 hour… They must be working on the many established fronts of investigation… A couple of policemen came to pick up the Hikari brothers and another went to pick up Mr. Rainon. My agents called here to confirm that the meeting is still ongoing. But I suppose they'll soon end._

There was a vibration and he drew a flip cellphone from his coat's chest pocket: he checked the caller's number before answering it.

"Yes, Chief?"

"Success. We have a password to contact the man's real representatives and to concert a business meeting." Lezareno told him.

"Excellent. What is it?"

"It's Russian… _Slava_ … "Glory"…"

"Hmpf. Not surprising. The man is a nostalgic, after all. I suppose Colonel Thunderbolt helped in achieving it?"

"Of course. The presence of a former GRU officer was more than enough to convince them we were serious. The proceeding is… They will ask _parol'_ (password) over the phone… And we have 15 seconds to reply with the password." Lezareno detailed.

"I see. By the way, the information providers were former customers of the man, I take it?"

"Yes, of course. Like you'd suggested us."

"Good. I will deal with him myself since we have met before and we have previous interactions. But he of course has lost track of me as well over the years so he has no idea what position I hold nowadays. He will not suspect anything."

"Excellent. Also… We're not the only ones interested. A fellow named _Ser Zamerzat'_ has also been contacting them to know the password. He also wants to speak business and provided a generous pay to them for the information."

"Oh? "Sir Freeze"? Heh. That'd be Freeze Man indeed. Guess neither he nor Twilight are too amused by the man's title of "Ice Schemer"… They must consider it an insult to Anaya's vanity."

"Yes. I'm considering asking for Mr. Laika to come together in case we have to deal with Freeze Man being on the scene."

"I shall call him myself."

"As you wish, Colonel. Of course, this information is only know to you, me, and Colonel Thunderbolt."

"Perfect."

"We're returning to the HQ. We will inform Mr. Admin."

"Roger. We shall speak later."

"Huh? Colonel Talos?"

"Hmm? Ah. Superintendent, ma'am. I thought you were in the midst of the meeting…"

Talos had just finished the call when Manabe walked in, visibly surprised: he folded the newspapers, placed them back on the table, and stood up to speak to her.

"Meeting? Now? Huh? Who placed that paper? Could've sworn it wasn't here a couple hours ago when I came to search for my car keys which I'd lost…"

"What!? But my men called the front a couple times in the last hour and they were told you and everyone else was in the middle of an "important meeting" and they'd asked that unless it was an emergency, to not to be disturbed…" Talos argued.

Manabe frowned and opened the doors: the room was unlit and empty so Talos gasped as he realized something.

" _Chert_! Damn! Quick, to the front!"

Talos rushed off and opened the stairs' hall door: he quickly ran down the stairs with Manabe following and they exited into the front: he headed for the front desk and the policeman looked up from the newspapers, surprised.

"W-what is the matter?"

"Were there any incoming phone calls this evening?" Talos nervously asked him.

"None, sir… Thought it was a rather quiet evening. Normally we get 4-5 about doubts or little incidents but…"

Manabe picked the receiver and brought it to her ear: she gasped and looked at the phone.

"It's got no dial tone!"

"Eeehhh!? But I did check that it's properly plugged!"

"Check the end of the wire!"

The policeman ducked under the desk to check the end of the wire and the plug: he then spotted that the underside of the wire right before the plug had a cut and the copper wire inside of the plastic outer layer had been cut.

"It's been sabotaged!"

"What!? _D'yavol_! Devil! He got us! The man answering the calls is a fake policeman! They must be somewhere in this building, with a phone linked to the phone lines and which receives all external calls! In short: there's an insider!" Talos hissed.

"Is this the work of that "Ice Schemer"?" Manabe deduced.

"Indeed, ma'am! We'd just gotten a lead on him which I'm going to use to figure out his hideout. I'll go in, pretend I want to bring a VIP who wants to do business with him, and come out. And then you charge in and arrest them…! We'll catch them in the middle of their crime so it'll be more than enough evidence! Ready a SWAT team, please!"

"Roger!"

"Ah! One more thing. Young man! All this talk is classified. You will not speak of it unless the Superintendent authorizes you to. Is that understood?" Talos warned the receptionist.

"R-roger, sir!" He stood up and saluted.

Talos rushed out of the building, hissing something under his breath and looked around: he headed for the parking entrance and used the pedestrian entrance to go down to the main parking: several Net Police vans were parked there so he began to check the number plates and stopped when he reached one parked at the end of the row right next to the SE corner.

 _It's here. So that must mean that… They must be very close by. Maybe there's a secret passage leading to the next building? And from there they moved them again… It wouldn't surprise me if they readied signal emitters that emit in the same frequency as the nanomachines' transmitter to fool us into believing they were here._

"If you're looking for the secret passage, _polkovnik_ (colonel), it's here…"

"Hmmm? Speaking of the devil. _Ser Zamerzat'_ (Sir Freeze)…"

Freeze Man suddenly popped up behind the van that Talos was examining and signaled the right wall with his left hand's index finger since he was crossing both arms.

"So you found them?"

"I just found the passage, truth to be told… We seek the same man. How about a temporary truce?" He offered.

"Fine. A temporary truce, it shall be. But you better don't attempt to pull a literal backstab. I can see them coming miles away."

"Of course."

Talos checked the wall and realized that if one looked closer there were hand imprints on it above the dust: he pressed them and a door silently turned inwards revealing a short passage with another door on the end: he walked over to it and slowly opened it to peek into another garage which had a DHL van on it.

"Don't worry. I sabotaged their cameras so they show static images. Like they did here." Freeze Man told him from behind.

"I see. I did suspect it was the case." He looked over the right shoulder to keep tabs on him.

"You also got the password?"

"Yes. I knew you had gotten it too."

"I see. It'd seem you and that man know each other and you were planning to make use of that to approach him without him suspecting anything. Am I wrong?"

"No, you are not. Fine. Let us do the following. I will approach him and you can appear and make a show to make it look like you're the ones who found him. And then the Net Police can appear because I will warn that there's a Neo Gospel member attacking the place." Talos suggested a plan as he shut the door.

"Fine for me… I will be on standby."

"One condition! You are not harming the gentlemen."

"I don't fight unarmed men."

"Fine."

Talos went out into the street through the Net Police HQ parking and crossed it via the crossing to head for a phone booth: he entered it and checked his phone to then dial a number.

" _Parol'_ (password)?"

" _Slava_ (glory)."

" _Rodzher!_ (Roger!)"

There was a series of beeps on the line and Talos discreetly looked around to check if anyone was spying on him.

"So? You want to do business?"

"Yes. My name is Talos. Former GRU officer."

"Huh! Yes, sir! What might we do for you, sir?"

"I know the "Ice Planner" personally. Tell him Talos wants to speak to him about a VIP who's disposed to pay a good sum for membership. Yes. About… 2 million Ameroupe Dollars." He explained.

"Immediately, sir!"

There was another series of beeps over the line.

 _Hmpf. Careful, as expected. They're backtracking the source of the call. But by calling from a phone booth I demonstrate prudence and professionality so they know I'm serious…_

"Talos! It's been years!" A man greeted.

"Yes, comrade. 4-5 years, is it? Time does fly by when you're busy with a job, doesn't it?"

"Sure thing. I did expect to stumble upon you somewhere one day and I was right." The man laughed.

"I wanted to talk about a VIP whom I'm working for as bodyguard."

"Oh, bodyguard for VIPs… Like I imagined."

"But I don't want to disclose over phone. Could we meet?"

"Of course, comrade."

"Where do we do it? My client's office?"

"Hmmm… No, come over to the club. Do you know the Net Police HQ building?" The man asked.

"Hmmm… That tall building in the 5th district, was it?"

"Same one. Go to the small building to its right, and ring the "Takeda Antiques Store". Give them the password… _Led_ (ice)." The man instructed him.

"Alright. Why, speaking of which… I'm in the street, right in front of that building! I was looking for a phone booth since the one closest to my client's office was out of service."

"OK! Then I'll tell the gateman to expect you."

"Roger."

Talos placed the receiver on his place and quickly typed a message addressed at Manabe: once he got confirmation it'd been received he deleted it and then headed for a small 3-story building right next to the Net Police HQ.

 _The darkest place is under the candlestick… Indeed, indeed… Thought that the parking was a meeting point in which to switch vehicles and flee far away but it wasn't._

He headed for the front door and pressed the button in the interphone that had been indicated to him.

"… _Led_ (ice)."

"Yes, sir. The owner is waiting for you, sir." A man replied.

The door buzzed and he stepped into the main hall: he then picked the elevator to go down to the parking and then walked towards the right: he spotted a door labelled "Takeda Antiques Store": he knocked on it and a man who looked like a bodyguard opened it: he saluted and stepped to the right to allow him in: the bodyguard then led the way towards the end of a corridor where there was a door labelled "Main Exhibit": he turned to the left to knock on another door labelled "Staff Only" and knocked on it: the door opened and Talos stepped in.

"Talos! Comrade. Glad to see you again."

"Same, Comrade."

The so-called "Ice Planner" was a man on his late 50s or early 60s with grayish hair, blue eyes and no beard or moustache.

He was about the same height as Talos.

He wore a tuxedo over a white shirt, a black necktie and ironed pants along with brown shoes.

The room had three windows looking out somewhere but the blinders were lowered right now: it also had a control panel with a mike and a LCD TV showing footage of the main hall and the parking.

Other furniture included two armchairs placed to the sides of a table with several drinks and cups atop it as well as an ashtray atop a column: a still lit cigar was placed on it.

The walls had posters of communism with Cyrillic text on them, the ceiling had a disco ball which was spinning and thus creating party-like atmosphere: music could be heard coming from the room beyond the windows as well.

"First of all… I would like to see what you have in store right now. My client is very, very selective."

"Comprehensible. Many of my clients also have very specific needs. Some take a lot of time and money to secure so to compensate that investment the membership fees are high."

He pressed a button on the console and the binders lifted: Talos looked out into a wide room below them which had a disco party-like ambience and in which he could see Netto, Saito, and Nelaus tied up in ropes forming the "turtle shell" pattern, with blindfolds over their eyes, ear plugs and rings on their mouths keeping them forcefully open: a total of six mem were raping them and agitating like they were in a party: several tables with drinks and food and ashtrays could be seen as well: Talos didn't lose his composure and calmly looked as if he was evaluating the scene while the "Ice Planner" was standing next to him and smoking the cigar he'd begun.

"Excellent. Just what my client wishes."

"Glad to know. I got them a while ago. It took time and effort."

"If you'll excuse me… I'll go to the street one moment to call for my client… Will the amount I told you suffice or…?"

"It's more than enough. Current fee is 1.850.000 and it's a membership valid for a whole year." The "Ice Planner" replied.

"Excellent. Then I will call for him."

"Perfect. I'll ready drinks. Do you still like vodka?"

"Of course. Also, my client likes dry martinis."

"Roger. I'll ready them."

"He'll come with car so… I guess he'll be here in 15-20 minutes. He's waiting for my call."

"OK!"

Talos exited the control room and headed outside of the locale: the bodyguard opened the door and saluted as Talos headed out so he returned the gesture: the door shut behind him and Talos used the pedestrian exit to go outside into the street.

"… So you're the "Ice Planner"…"

"Eh? What!? Who are you, how did you get in!?"

"My name is Freeze Man, from Neo Gospel! You're in the way of the business of the mighty Ice Queen and the "Secret Empire"!"

Talos shrugged as he heard how Freeze Man transmitted live what he was telling the "Ice Planner" over the phone: he dialed a number.

"Building to the right, basement, "Takeda Antiques Store"… They are there indeed. Now's the chance. There's only bodyguard inside so there won't be any opposition." He reported to Manabe.

"Roger!"

"Ice Tower!"

"Guah! What's this!?"

"Flee, you fools who defy the "Secret Empire" and Neo Gospel! Before my icy blades cut you pigs to pieces! Flee!" Freeze Man told the customers.

"Uwaahhh! Run!"

"Bring that door down!" Manabe ordered.

"Roger!"

There was a loud crash and the sound of many people running over Manabe's phone: a couple of door busting sounds ensued.

"Net Police! Nobody move! You're arrested for impersonation of police officers and abduction of "Net Savior" members! And the prosecution will add several more offenses! Your business is over, "Ice Planner"!"

"How the hell did you…?"

"You bought the anger of Neo Gospel and the "Secret Empire". But since they wanted to humiliate you then they tipped us off about this location… That's the reason for your downfall!"

"Damn punks! _Poshel Ty_! Fuck you!"

"Superintendent, ma'am! This is Squad B! We arrested the six men who were in the dressing room trying to dress up before escaping."

"Squad C here! We secured the young men. They look like they've been drugged with a powerful aphrodisiac since they're uttering non-rational things…"

"I see. Good job. The ambulance should be on its way here."

Talos nodded in agreement to himself and ended the call as Freeze Man appeared to his right.

"Well then. I finished my job here. We shall cross blades soon… And regardless of the outcome… We shall have left a powerful imprint in history… Farewell!"

He warped away and Talos shrugged as he pocked the phone: he clenched his right fist and hissed to vent his anger.

"Hmpf. You've always been a fool and a coward eager for dominance and power… I remember your name of the KGB era… _"The Icy Scorpion_ "… But it's all over now. Yet it's a reminder that apart from Anaya's leftovers there will be types like you to deal with… All in due time…"

 _The decisive battle against Neo Gospel is upcoming… I can feel it… It's time to put an end to this spiral of madness… Let the youth build a new future!_


	13. Chapter 13: Indiscriminate destruction

**Chapter 13: Indiscriminate destruction**

05:45 AM (Japan Time), Saturday April 22nd…

"… So? What are the latest news, Freeze Man?"

"Yes, sir. It'd seem that they all made a decent recovery and have been pouring energy in Vadous' simulator…"

"I see. Do they look like they're up to the challenge? You can be honest with me on that aspect."

"Yes, sir. Hmmm… They seem to be relying on anger a lot. I guess the fact of being caught off-guard has irritated them a lot."

"Hmmm… Anything else?"

"Maybe these recordings will help, sir?"

"Oh? What are they?"

"Bribed a maintenance worker to bug Dr. Hikari's office."

"Oho. Interesting!"

Freeze Man was reporting to Twilight on the control room: Twilight was sitting on the armchair while looking at a graph displaying a central red dot and seven blue dots spread out in a circle: some yellow spots could be seen placed between the blue dots and in the space surrounding the central red dot.

"They have had discussions but nevertheless it'd seem they've decided to postpone them until their battle with us has concluded."

"What kind of discussions?" Twilight asked.

"About how they feel like a bother instead of being helpful."

"I see. What about Nelaus?"

"He took part in the discussions but he wasn't as angered as the others yet he DID have anger: he was good at holding it at bay but he couldn't avoid letting out symptoms of it."

"Interesting. So… Conclusion?"

"Maybe this battle is what they need to vent off and to see if they can find a balance between anger and duty."

"Good. I've pulled the pretext of technical issues to delay the beginning some hours. IQ – sama wanted me to begin the operation at 2 AM but I thought it would be unfair… We begin at 7 AM sharp!"

"Excellent, sir. I did another round on the "sub-sites". All is ready. The actors are in place."

"Alright. How about the generators?"

"Running at 100% efficiency."

"Perfect. I checked the placement of the "anchors" and they're all correct as well. "Site B" placement is also the ideal. I need somewhere desolated and with a lot of solid soil for the "device" to work. I also calculated interference from _kyoudai_ but if I pull the bluff I have in mind then he won't dare to shoot at us with his UFO's energy cannons." Twilight calmly turned the chair to speak to Freeze Man.

"As expected, sir."

"By the way… Those four are still in the capsules and properly switched off, right? I don't want them to ruin the surprise."

"Of course, sir. I made sure to punish Cloud Man by having him broom and mop one of the long corridors."

"Good. By the way, did they talk about what they are expecting?"

"They did discuss but they reached no conclusion. Some think the UFO was a hint that it was space-related, others think that it was a red herring and it might be something like the "Global Winds" operation or the hijack of Akihara Middle School."

"Heh. The first faction aren't that far off the mark although, technically, we aren't in "space" per se so… They were close but they should've looked at a lesser height." Twilight smirked.

"Indeed, sir." Freeze Man chuckled.

"Good! I'll take care of the preparations here. Do another round of the "sub-sites" and re-test everything! 7 AM sharp! No delays!"

"As you wish, sir!"

"So… _Kyoudai_. Today is the day… Are you ready? Heh, heh, heh…"

06:55 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Still no trace of those rascals?"

"No. Laser Man did detect that wiretap in Dr. Hikari's office but it transmitted to a rendezvous point that was in Yamato Man's rendezvous points list."

"Fine. Sheesh. Where will they be coming from? I already scanned the Moon and the space between it and Earth in many frequencies but found nothing unusual."

"Maybe the UFO was indeed a red herring to make us think they'd attack from the space but in truth they would be attacking from the surface like the last couple of times…"

"Warning! Warning! Multiple energy signatures detected!"

"Fuck. Speak of the devil! Location?"

"Approximately 15 kilometers above sea-level."

"Shit. So it was in mid-air and not past the atmosphere!"

Vadous was talking with Omega on the command bridge of their HQ and going over the findings when the computer rang an alarm and showed the same graph Twilight had been looking at.

"Huge energy signature, energy build-up! Current location is above Utah, Ameroupe."

"Shit. Don't tell me he intends to blow up the "Time – Space Tower" with an aerial attack!"

Vadous inputted some commands to switch to a satellite view mode: he was able to see an energy beam shooting down from no-where in mid-air towards the ground.

"Damn! Where did that hit? Distance from "Time – Space Tower?"

"Approximately 48 kilometers. Crater detected in the impact area, and fragments of soil are being sucked upwards by a powerful energy field."

"Wait… Beam from sky, soil being sucked upwards… And these energy signatures… I've seen that before." Omega muttered as he rubbed his chin with the right hand.

"So he's copying a game or a movie or whatever?"

"Very probably…"

"Huh!? What's that huge thing!?"

A giant construct suddenly revealed its location floating in the air: it was shaped like a dome of stone or a similar material and it felt like an umbrella at the same time: a sword-like appendix emerged from behind and was glowing red hot.

"Damn. It's the sky city, "Dycroft", from _Tales of Destiny_! Along with its weapon, the "Bergland"!" Omega cursed.

"And the other signatures…? What are those?"

He signaled imagery of 7 buildings floating in the air at the same height spread in a circle along with some chunks of rock floating in mid-air as well: Omega cursed.

"The other sky cities from the game… Don't tell me that he intends to…"

The "Dycroft" shot several beams of energy towards the rocks from its top and they glowed red hot as they reached a semi-molten state: they then began to stretch forming connecting appendixes which began to link amongst them forming a matrix which began to cover the skies.

"Fuck. He intends to recreate the "outer shell" too!"

"What's that?"

"An artificial land hovering in the air and covering all of the sky which will enclose the world in total darkness!"

"The fuck. Then I'm going to shoot that out of the sky right now!"

"Wait, boss! There's the possibility that the hostage is there."

"Damn. You're right. Then what do we do?"

"Afraid we'll have to take control of those cities to shut off the generators powering the shield around the "Dycroft" fortress…"

"Fine. Let's ring general alarm and establish 7 teams to tackle each of those "cities"… This is going to be a long day, I can tell it!"

"Yeah. Fuck. What a show the guy's come up with…!"

08:19 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Charge Shot!"

"Diamond Blade!"

"Roll Whip!"

"This is Team 1! We'll soon reach the generator's room."

"Roger."

"CF" Netto, "CF" Nelaus and "CF" Roll were busting their way through a stone corridor while defeating Viruses that jumped at them: "CF" Nelaus reported through radio to Omega in the meanwhile.

"Enjoying the tour of "Ignacity"?" Freeze Man taunted over unseen speakers.

"Sheesh."

"There'll be an "actor" waiting for you guys in the generator room but there's some field rules here… Only one of you is allowed to tackle them… And they're not cheap mass-produced stuff either… A fight to the death it shall be…" Freeze Man chuckled.

"So be it!" "CF" Netto wasn't impressed.

"So? Anger? Duty? Which it'll be?"

"… Shut up." "CF" Netto hissed.

"Netto!" "CF" Roll scolded.

"I know! But…! But…!"

"If you let anger take over your body then that can't end up good. We've talked about that." "CF" Nelaus reminded him.

"… Fine. We'll settle it once it's over." He decided.

"Need I remind you how many times you almost broke "Cross Fusion" due to the anger interfering with our Synchronism?" Rock Man added.

"I know that you've gone through something that shocked you. I'm not saying it's easily forgotten. But now we have a task at hand." Isaac added.

"Yes! We must focus on the task at hand!"

"… Yeah, you're right… Sorry. Let's go."

"That's the spirit, Hikari."

"OK!"

The group reached an energy field blocking the entrance to the next room at the end of the corridor.

"I'll go in. Back me up, please." "CF" Nelaus requested.

"Roger."

"OK!"

He crossed through the field as it shifted into a "Dimensional Area" wall to stop the others from coming in: the walls of the corridor receded a couple meters each expanding the space: "Swordy" Viruses flooded the space and both "CF" Netto and "CF" Roll drew Variable Swords to begin fighting them: "CF" Nelaus walked into the main room where a cylindrical generator was at, protected by a "Dimensional Area" field as well: he began to look around as if trying to find a way to disable it.

"Grrrr! Welcome to your grave! Beast Man – sama's going to painfully tear you up, you'll beg for MERCY!"

Beast Man jumped down from atop the generator and into the ground: he drew his claws as "CF" Nelaus readied his "Diamond Blade": Beast Man chuckled as he dashed towards "CF" Nelaus who quickly swung the blade and made contact but Beast Man turned into a hologram and he suddenly felt his claws cutting down his back: he barely held back the groan of pain as he turned around to counter-attack but Beast Man warped again to hit his back again.

"He's got a modified _kawarimi_ program built on him!" Isaac analyzed.

"Shit. So none of my attacks will make contact?"

"Hah, hah, hah, hah! What, is that all? How boring! Not enough screams of pain! Scream! SCREAAAMMMM!"

"Fuck."

"Guess we'll have to use the trump card."

"Yeah, guess so!"

"No trump cards can defeat me!"

"I wonder about! Bestialize Chip, Greiga! Activate! Hruuooohhh!"

"What!?"

A column of bluish energy formed on "CF" Nelaus' location and he roared as the armor of "Greiga" formed over him: Beast Man gasped but "CF" Nelaus shot forward and plunged both claws on his chest area faster than what Beast Man could react: he gasped and groaned before "CF" Nelaus lifted him and spun him over his head to then flung him towards the "Dimensional Area" protecting the generator: the blow created an energy reaction and "CF" Nelaus pushed Beast Man against it to add more mass to the energy reaction: streaks of electricity spread across the surface of the barrier and jumped off in random directions as a whining sound coming from below the ground turned louder and louder: there were a series of explosions below the ground as the barrier vanished: "CF" Nelaus let go of Beast Man who fell to the ground and stopped moving.

"Mode change! Bestialize Chip, Falzer! Activate! Hyaaahhhh!"

Red energy surrounded him as he switched for his "Falzer" form next and flew upwards towards the ceiling: he drew the buster weapon and shot an array of feather that got stuck to a portion of the ceiling before exploding and forming a hole: he exited on the ceiling of the "sky city" where a parabolic antenna was emitting an energy beam towards "Dycroft" which was several kilometers away: the whole of the city was also surrounded by a shield save for the front entrance some tens of meters below: he slashed the antenna into pieces and the energy emitted by the beam hit the city's shield overloading it and causing several explosions in the structure before it shut down.

"Phew."

"Huh? I can catch a huge energy reading! The cannon is getting ready to fire again!"

He looked at the sword appendix beneath "Dycroft": it was glowing red hot and it shot an energy beam towards the surface: the beam sucked in more soil and the "outer shell" began to expand and grow bigger by forming new connections.

"Shit. We gotta hurry or else…!"

08:33 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Sonic Boom!"

"Scope Gun!"

"Justice Saber!"

"Bouncing Bullets!"

"This is Team 2! We're almost at the generator room!"

"Roger. Expect a Darkloid with some cheat ability."

"Of course."

"CF" Blues, "CF" Laika, "CF" Charles and "CF" Martin were making their way through another of the "sky cities" while fighting the hordes of Viruses that tried to stop them: they began to see the door at the end of the corridor: "CF" Charles used a golden Long Sword while "CF" Martin shot bullets from two Colts which bounced around and impacted the Viruses from behind.

"Enjoying your tour of "Susasia"? Heh, heh, heh. The "outer shell" is currently 50% completed." Freeze Man chuckled.

"We'd like to blast it away but scans reveal the presence of "energy absorbers" which would absorb the energy of the blasts and actually use it to expand the shell." Omega grumbled over the radio.

"Sheesh."

"Blame Namco for the ideas." Freeze Man taunted.

"We won't fall for that provocation." "CF" Martin fumed.

"Maybe you'll fall into the unending abyss accompanied by a monster playing with a drum?"

"Bongo Bongo from _Ocarina of Time_? Sheesh. Don't bring up people's traumas. That thing is GROSS."

"And despairing in Master Mode if you do a 3-heart "lock" play. Some of its attacks are one-hit kills." "CF" Blues fumed.

"The generator is about 15 meters away." "CF" Laika reported.

"Finally. Felt like kilometers! I'll go in."

"OK. We'll cover you."

"CF" Charles headed into the generator room as the corridor walls expanded to allow more Viruses in: they were a combination of "Swordy" and "Curzdo" so the remaining three groaned.

"Fuck."

"Who said it'd be easy?" Freeze Man taunted.

"Shut up." They grumbled.

"So? Who's my opponent?"

"The Lord of Light! Flash Man – sama~!"

Flash Man appeared atop the generator, gloating and laughing, which didn't amuse "CF" Charles: Flash Man got into fighting stance and opened his palms: "CF" Charles frowned but he was suddenly struck by lightning come out of nowhere: Flash Man then jumped down and kicked "CF" Charles on the chest: the blow forced him to recoil as Flash Man then stabbed his palms' daggers there: "CF" Charles recovered and drew a golden Mega Cannon which he shot at close-range: the blast made a noticeable wound on Flash Man's chest and both were pushed away by the force of the blast and the recoil: "CF" Charles switched back to his golden Long Sword while Flash Man scoffed as his wound healed immediately: they ran for each other and began to strike their blades against each other: Flash Man wasn't too surprised as he circled around "CF" Charles trying to find an opening.

"Invisible attacks, huh? Cheat ability indeed." He grumbled.

"You're too predictable, human! You'll have to do better than that!"

"Imitating Count Dooku from _Star Wars_ next? Sheesh."

Flash Man chuckled and suddenly formed two lamps next to him about 15 cm tall more or less: the bulbs glowed and formed electricity inside of them which he absorbed as it spread and formed a barrier around his body: the lamps got deleted afterwards as Flash Man roared and formed 5 shockwaves of electrical energy which spread across the air at different heights: "CF" Charles cursed under his breath and warped to avoid them but Flash Man did the same so that he could emit more of them: "CF" Charles tried to run but Flash Man always predicted his next move.

"Slow! You're slow! You're but speed of sound! You can't compete with my speed, with my light-speed!"

"Sheesh. Shut up!"

"You want light-speed? Then take THIS!"

"Whatever you do is FUTILE~!"

The "Monolith" suddenly formed and the cover vanished revealing a tunnel extending into the infinite: a beam of energy flew off in a blinking speed and pierced through Flash Man's barrier and his body: he groaned in pain as he clutched the wound with his right hand.

"I shot the Justice Cannon and this dimensional tunnel speeded it up to a speed you wouldn't be able to react!"

"Kuh…! Guh…! How crafty! But my regeneration speed is the fastest! No matter the damage its gets healed instantly! Die~!"

He rushed forward but another beam of energy shot out from the dimensional tunnel and pierced through his core shattering it: he howled as his built in energy spread around his body so "CF" Charles tackled him against the generator's barrier: the energy began to be absorbed but it soon began to overcome the barrier's capability to absorb energy: Flash Man stretched his hands forward and suddenly shot both daggers towards "CF" Charles neck who instinctively ducked just in time as they hit the far wall and got stabbed there: Flash Man was deleted as the barrier overloaded.

"OK! Let's break the emitter!"

He shot a blast into the ceiling to force an opening and exit into the rooftop: he could see how indeed the rock paths had grown thicker and in numbers: he sliced the emitter parabola and the energy emission was cancelled while they overloaded the city's shield too.

"Problem is that we can't disable them at once. The other cities' shields won't open until one falls." Omega grumbled.

"Sheesh. And there's still 5 left! We won't make in time at this rate!"

"I know, damn it. But we have no other choice, the hostage's life is at stake here!"

09:13 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Needle Cannon!"

"Shadow Blade!"

"Prism Lance! Hah!"

"Here's team 3! We're about to enter the generator room!"

"Roger that."

"CF" Yuriko, "CF" Miyabi and "CF" Misaki were also making it through another of the "sky cities" while blasting away hordes of Spark Bees and Mettools.

"Heh, heh, heh. "Heallius" will become you lowlifes' grave. Be glad we provided one close to Heaven." Freeze Man mocked.

"HMPF!" None were impressed.

"No good. We tried to overload the other cities' shields with our cannons but they absorb the energy and vent it off into the atmosphere. We have no choice but to follow their damned script." Omega reported.

"Can't be helped, a hostage's life is at stake." "CF" Yuriko replied.

"I'll handle the enemy in the generator room." "CF" Miyadi told them.

"Roger."

"Hmpf. It's about time you got wiped off from the world, you traitor dog… Heh, heh, heh." Freeze Man chuckled.

"Like I give a crap." Shadow Man grumbled.

"Hmpf… This is the flow of cause-effect! Fate!"

"Save your bullshit for some idiot."

"Shah, shah, shah! This guy was already this bossy years ago."

"Hmpf. The foolish lamb who didn't match with the rest of the cattle."

"Wha~t? Lamb? Me?" Needle Man complained.

"And the foolish sinner that… Oops. Wrong "setting"."

"Huh? What was that?" "CF" Misaki seemed to frown.

"Never mind. Hmpf."

"Cover me!"

"Roger!"

"CF" Miyabi rushed into the generator room as the other two had to deal with Mettools jumping all over the place accompanied by "Ghostler", the Viruses that provided the "Invisible" Battle Chip.

"Sheesh! These little guys warp all over the place and they're annoying! Needle Cannon!"

"Hrah! Hah!"

"Hum! So the sinner came! I'm Sword Man! Master of blades, no sinner can defeat my mastery!"

"Bring it on."

"CF" Miyabi's foe was Sword Man who was already hovering over the ground a few centimeters in front of the generator: he was in "red head" mode right now and had his blade drawn.

"Careful, Miyabi. It looks like a normal one but it's a "Diamond Blade" like Isaac's one." Shadow Man warned.

"No problem. I asked Vadous to upgrade your blades to be of the same material." He drew both _katana_.

"Hum! Interesting! But can you match THIS?"

Sword Man suddenly began to spin forming a cyclone and dashed for "CF" Miyabi who jumped to the side to dodge but Sword Man quickly turned left and swung his blade vertically to make a superficial cut on "CF" Miyabi's armor: he held back the hiss of pain and quickly jumped towards Sword Man but his "yellow head" flew off and headed for "CF" Miyabi: he used Area Steal to warp away but now he found the "blue head" flying for him: cursing under his breath, he warped once again only to find Sword Man himself in front of him: he delivered a diagonal swing which made a deep cut on the chest armor but "CF" Miyabi held back the pain as he tried to find a way out the pinch: Sword Man's other two heads returned to the main body and he gloated.

"Shadow Clone!"

"Hmpf! Clever!"

"CF" Miyabi formed his classical "shadow clones" as Sword Man began to spin again but then all clones jumped into the air and shoot small round metallic balls that attached to his body and made a small detonations: the amount of them momentarily distracted Sword Man so "CF" Miyabi slashed diagonally with his two blades forming two wounds drawing an "X" on Sword Man's body: he growled and aimed his blade upwards: some energy flew off the generator's barrier and into his blade: he began to swing it to create "Sonic Booms" but "CF" Miyabi deflected them by alternating between the right sword and the left sword: Sword Man rushed for him while "CF" Miyabi side-stepped: Sword Man, however, jumped upwards and drew an arc towards "CF" Miyabi to then land with violence and create a shockwave that traveled across the ground: "CF" Miyabi barely dodged it by jumping over it and to the right only for the "yellow head" to tackle him with the "head" from before and the "blue head" doing the same from behind: Sword Man gripped his blade with both hands and dived for "CF" Miyabi but when he made contact he was replaced with a log and the real one appeared behind him to plunge both blades from behind, piercing through his core: he roared as his energy began to run out of control.

"Now! Wind God Racket!"

He formed the racket and the blast of wind blew Sword Man towards the generator's barrier: he howled as he was electrocuted by contacting it and "CF" Miyabi shot one of his firewalls at the broken core so that it absorbed the energy and overloaded: the resulting energy release was absorbed by the barrier which overloaded: he wasted on time in warping to the rooftop and cutting the emitter antenna to pieces.

"Phew. These are no pushovers, indeed." He sighed in relief.

"The Viruses also stop attacking once the barrier goes down, too. Anyway, let's get back to the base." Yuriko sighed over the radio.

"Be glad we filled the cities with enough oxygen. We could've forced you to bring oxygen cylinders. Heh, heh, heh." Freeze Man taunted.

"Sheesh." Misaki fumed.

"When this is over I need a week in the mountains to meditate…"

09:27 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Light Cannon!"

"Screen Divide!"

"Dark Cannon!"

"Colonel Cannon!"

"Heh, heh. The master of "light" and "dark" and the H. G. Wells' inheritor, talk about a curious pairing who will meet their end in "Mickhail"…!"

"Your childish taunts hardly impress."

"Indeed. How it is, Anderson – sama?"

"Yeah, the generator room is only 20 meters away."

Annihilator Man and Colonel were making their way through yet another "sky city" central corridor: Annihilator Man had white and purple Mega Cannons on either hand and shot different attacks: the white cannon shot a bright beam of light that inflicted burning into the enemies while the purple one shot a gel-like purple mass that froze the enemies in place once it attached to them: Colonel used both his sword and his cannon to blast the enemies away while Annihilator Man's Operator guided him through his Operator window.

"Roger, Anderson – sama."

He was about sixteen or seventeen years old: had purple eye irises and silver-like hair.

From what it could be seen, he wore a thick red wool jumper.

"So, you will inherit the legacy of the "dark"?"

"Ask your petty master." Anderson shot back, unimpressed.

"Hmpf. My master is already one with the "dark"!"

"We knew that. And? What if?"

"Hmpf. Play unimpressed as much as you want, Regal."

"My surname's Anderson. And it's true that Dr. Regal is like a father to me but I'm not his biological son. And you knew that already. So go make an ice castle in Antarctica."

"Screen Divide! Go! I'll handle this."

"Roger!"

Annihilator Man rushed into the generator room as Colonel cleared a path: a lot of standard Navis wielding Elec Swords on both hands appeared in the widened corridor and they rushed for Colonel but he jumped into the air and shot Screen Divides in all directions: the attack was powerful enough to defeat each in one hit.

"So? Who's my foe?"

"Hmpf! So you came… Heh, heh, heh. Are you ready to feel the flames of Hell? Maybe they'll be merciful compared to the flames of anger or the flames of the stars! Burner Man – sama on the scene!"

Burner Man appeared atop the generator lit by several spotlights as if wanting to appeal as "cool" but neither Annihilator Man nor Anderson were remotely impressed by the display.

"Let's roll and burn!" He laughed.

"Less talk. Fight me."

"Get outta Hell first!"

He formed a barrier of flames around him as kerosene on the ground suddenly became visible: it ignited and the room was instantly covered in viciously burning flames: Anderson grumbled.

"The smoke lowers the vision and IR is useless. We'll have to resort to X – Ray and radar." He decided.

"Roger. Light Sword, Dark Sword!"

He drew a white and a purple swords as he noticed Burner Man rushing towards him from above while surrounded by a ball of flames: he didn't lose his composure and swung his blades to form a quick and white "Sonic Boom" followed by a slow purple "Sonic Boom": the first one cut through the barrier, forming an opening, but hit a Dream Aura protecting Burner Man: the second one dissolved on contact and spread over the surface of the Dream Aura: Annihilator Man quickly switched the Light Sword for the Light Cannon and shot the Dream Aura: it shattered into pieces.

"I-impossible!"

Annihilator Man then jumped backwards as Burner Man's sphere of flames hit the ground and intensified the flames: Annihilator Man ignited hover jets on the soils of his feet to hover above them while Burner Man snarled and shot towards him using a "Salamander" Battle Chip: Annihilator Man shot the Light Cannon again but when it hit Burner Man he turned transparent: two blades suddenly stabbed him from behind and he felt hot metal stabbing into his skin: he hissed and looked over his shoulder to see the real Burner Man there, smirking: he warped before the Salamander hit the ground below the position he'd been at and made the flames rise taller: Burner Man laughed as he warped into the flames and hid amongst them.

"Radar won't work, sir. He's released Viruses within the flames that run around so I get too many signatures. And to top it off the generator is emitting a jamming signal interfering with X-Ray!"

"Sheesh. Cheat codes, sure enough."

"Heh, heh, heh. This is the fire that will burn all sinners."

"Speak for yourself, Mr. Smug! Come to these… Do it!"

Annihilator Man nodded and readied both hands: the tubes on his back hummed as he accumulated a white energy mass within a transparent field: he then formed a hole in the field and shot it at the barrier: a powerful flash ensued and the barrier was annihilated: Burner Man suddenly jumped at him from below with another Salamander and Annihilator Man calmly tossed the white energy mass at him as a Monolith formed behind him and he stepped into the dimensional tunnel: the Monolith vanished as the Salamander hit the mass which suddenly expanded outwards with a bright white flash deleting everything on its wake: Burner Man couldn't stop his impulse and flew straight-headed into the mass to be absorbed and deleted instantly: the generator was also deleted before the mass collapsed with another blinding white flash: Annihilator Man reappeared into the room.

"Sheesh. So you used anti-matter." Freeze Man grumbled.

"If you play dirty, I can do the same."

"Hmpf. Gloat while you can!"

"Alright. Let's pull out and return to the base. 4 of 7 now…"

09:51 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Woody Tower!"

"Bone Stalker!"

"Water Tower!"

"Go, Shark Man! This time around I'll-!"

"BE QUIET!"

"YIKES!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Welcome to "Ansong"… How much did you bribe the scriptwriters to let you take part in the climax?"

"Sheesh."

Wood Man, Skull Man and Shark Man were also taking part in the missions to disable the generators in the "sky cities": Commander Beef began to say something but Miyumiyu and Black Rose cut him, both visibly annoyed: Freeze Man taunted the trio who sighed.

"Heh, heh, heh. Despair! Witnesses!"

A holographic display suddenly popped out showing how the "Bergland" had finished loading and was shooting another attack at the surface: they hissed as they saw how the "shell" began to grow bigger and thicker and there gaps began to grow smaller.

"Heh, heh, heh. How does bitter despair taste like?"

"I knew it, it's the curse of the _otaku_! Higure Yamitarou!" Commander Beef grumbled.

"Maybe you need a cold shower, my chap." Wily chuckled off-screen.

"Eeeeehhhh!?" He gasped.

"Oh, that'd do WONDERS!" Both women muttered aloud.

"No way!"

"Focus on the duty!" Manabe commanded next.

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

"How _reliable_." Freeze Man poked.

"Sod off." Shark Man sighed.

"Got no time to waste on relics."

"Indeed!"

"I've got some names that Cloud Man thought up for you guys. I'm sure you'll be CHARMED by them." He chuckled.

"Oh devil." They all gasped.

"Ahem! "Forest Man, VIP member of Greenpeace!"

"Forest Man? How lame." Black Rose sighed.

"Next! "Ghost of the cowboy who couldn't defeat Lucky Luke in 1898!"…"

"Sheesh. Skeletons and ghosts are two different things even in fantasy games! Sod off!" Skull Man grumbled.

"Why 1898?" Miyumiyu wondered.

"Hmmm… That's the year Cuba became independent from Spain, I think "far west" still existed but…" Wily muttered aloud.

"Last! "Mutant who was expelled from the X-Men!"

"Like I care." Shark Man grumbled.

"I'll take care of the punk here!" Skull Man told the other two.

"Wise move. You've got more adaptability and no elemental weakness so you're the best choice." Wood Man agreed.

"OK! We'll cover you!"

"Go! _Otoko-maru_!"

"Commander… Maybe you really need a cold shower."

"EEEEEHHHH!?"

"More like an ice coffin to sleep… _forever_." Freeze Man gloated.

"Like I said, go built an ice castle in the North Pole." Skull Man grumbled.

"We've got no time for little fry."

"Hmpf. Little fry? Me? Heh, heh, heh. You will regret that, you will…"

"Sheesh. How annoying!"

Skull Man rushed into the generator room which was decorated like outer space and found Star Man sitting atop the generator and leaning his face against his right arm: he grinned as meteors began to fall down all across the room and Skull Man tried to jump to dodge but he began to hover in the room.

"Fuck. They've messed up with the gravity settings! I float but they can move normally!"

"Heh, heh, heh. My servants will do all the work for me. And I have fun watching you struggle, Mr. Cowboy Ghost." He laughed.

"I'm no cowboy ghost, damn it all!"

"Who knows? Maybe you are and you didn't notice?" He mocked.

"Grrr! Bone Stalker! Demon Fire!"

Skull Man tried to shoot his spinning dagger-like arms followed by a row of bluish flames but gravity distorted again: he heard a sound and looked behind him over the entrance to spot Gravity Man there who was moving arms accordingly.

"Fuck. There's actually two of them!"

"Now we're in trouble." Miyuki hissed.

"Wait, I've got an idea…" Wily whispered.

"Enemies are meaningless. Meaningless." Gravity Man taunted.

"You're the one who's meaningless! Bone Stalker!"

"Meaningless."

"Gotcha!"

"Huh? W-w-w-whah!"

Gravity Man formed his gravity barrier but Skull Man detached his head and it flew towards the field, hitting it and disabling it: the Bone Stalkers then stopped and formed a big blue flame which shot towards Gravity Man's central disc and latched into it turning into a burn and disabling it: gravity returned to normal while a Monolith formed behind Gravity Man and Shark Man plus Wood Man pulled him inside of the tunnel to then vanish: Star Man hissed and quickly got into fighting stance.

"Damn. The field can't impede those tunnels." Freeze Man muttered aloud as his voice rang out of the speakers.

"So, lazy spoiled brat! Can you actually pull a fight?"

"I'm no spoiled brat! Eat this! Shooting star shower!"

Star Man formed a "portal" behind him and shot energy streams at Skull Man who easily dodged each: Star Man jumped into the air, nervous, and dropped giant stars followed by meteors towards Skull Man: he jumped from star to star and dodged or smacked the meteors away: Star Man formed a Dream Aura and loaded energy before shooting a powerful black beam from the Dream Aura towards Skull Man: he kept on heading upwards as the black beam pierced through his body but it didn't seem to affect him to Star Man's growing despair.

"I'm already dead! I can't die again!" Skull Man taunted.

"No way! That should've pierced the core!"

"A magician never reveals their tricks." Miyumiyu dully muttered.

"Once again! Death Beam!"

Star Man shot the beam again which flew past the opening made by the previous beam without any resistance: Star Man focused his sight and gasped when he saw there was no core.

"N-n-no way… How can he move without a…? Damn! I see! It's not in the chest! It's lower, on the waist!" He realized.

"Too late, kiddo! I'll send you to meet your precious Shade Man – sama, who's ready to give you an earful about switching sides!"

"Eeeehhh!? No way! Eeei! Death Beam! I'll blow up your head!"

He aimed the beam at the head but Skull Man detached it, flew in an arch, dived for the "Dream Aura", broke through it and Skull Man's body warped there as he pushed Star Man against the energy field: Star Man's face contracted into hatred as he roared and his chest emitted purple energy beams from it: Skull Man wasn't too impressed.

"I'll drag you with me there! And Shade Man – sama will reward me!"

"Hmpf! Interesting! Bring it on, kiddo!"

10:13 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So in the end the explosion did damage Skull Man but wasn't powerful enough to take him down, huh?"

"Yeah, according to Superintendent Manabe… Star Man only contributed to blowing up the barrier and Skull Man destroyed the emitter. That makes 5 of 7."

"Mugrroooh! Flee, Viruses! Durin's Bane has come!"

"Don't get cocky,"

"Don't worry, Atsushi! I'm a rock!"

"Sigh. And don't set up "flags"."

"The enemy's resistance is stronger here, Utsuki – sama."

"Indeed. Don't lower the guard, Axe Man."

"Hey, Angou, man! Are we getting close to the goal?"

"Yeah, ya're almost there."

Balrog, Axe Man and Destruction Man were talking with their Operators as they destroyed all resistance on their path.

Atsushi, Balrog's Opertor, had brown messy hair and blue eyes and was about the same age as Nelaus and the others.

Utsuki, Axe Man's Operator, had short blond hair cut in a military-like style as well as brown eye irises. He looked on his thirties.

Angou, Destruction Man's Operator, had messy emerald hair which shot out in several directions at random and equally emerald eye irises: he was around Nelaus' age, maybe a bit older.

"Heh, heh, heh. Masters of time, welcome to "Cloudis"… Where time stops… because it's the grave of fools." Freeze Man mocked.

"Masters of time, how original. Is that your best, child?" Utsuki dully shot back, unimpressed.

"C-child!? Me!? I've got a mental age of 30!"

"Thought you were supposed to be as childish as your men who always act like children."

"Sheesh! It's true that they've acted like idiots way too many times! But I'm another tale!" Freeze Man grumbled.

"Hmmm… I think Destruction Man has more versality here. You'll go face whoever's waiting in the generator room." Annihilator Man decided over the radio.

"Roger, _Danna_!"

"You handle the small fry. Also, be careful, Destruction Man. There could be a second Darkloid creating a favorable terrain for one of them. Don't lower the guard." He ordered.

"OK! Leave it up to us, _Danna_!" Angou grinned.

"Don't get cocky, Future…" Anderson sighed.

"R-roger." He gulped.

"OK! Here come the Curzdos! My wreck ball will handle them!"

"Hmpf. Let them come…"

A wave of Curzdos appeared and Balrog began to spin his wreck ball to smash them while Axe Man jumped around and pierced them with his axe's spear when they attacked: Destruction Man got into the generator room which was wholly frozen and had Cold Man waiting atop the generator: he chuckled.

"Hyuuhhh! Welcome to my turf, Robocop!"

"I know I got inspired by Robocop but that's unrelated." Angou rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Hyuuuhhh! I know it! That you got inspired by the calamity come from the future!"

"What next? The Terminator?" Destruction Man guessed.

"Hyuuuhhh! It'd seem you can use the CPU!" He taunted.

"And it'd seem you don't know the way to the North Pole."

"What was that? Hyuuuhhh! Iceberg Press!"

Destruction Man jumped away Cold Man compressed and jumped into the air to dive towards him: he readied his mini-missiles.

"Careful! Behind you!"

"Whoa!"

An "Ice Tower" had suddenly formed behind him and was about to stab or pierce him but he warped away in time: however, the ice began to crack in the spot he landed so he jumped away before it did revealing that there was no actual floor and he could see the land many kilometers below: Destruction Man hissed and formed a steel wire with a hook which he shot to the wall and reeled in to get attached to it as Cold Man hit a wall and bounced off it to begin bouncing around, forming cracks on the ice whenever he hit the icy floor: Destruction Man jumped away and landed atop the generator since the spot of the wall he'd been at had shattered too revealing that there also was no wall.

"Sheesh. There's no floor or walls and it'd seem that the only actual ceiling is right above me, where the emitter is at. These emitters receive their energy through wireless but it's a shifting wave frequency that we can't block…" He grumbled aloud.

"Hyuuhhh! You're a cornered mouse! Right?"

"Huh? Who are ya talkin' to…? Huh? When did that sand form in the ceiling…?"

"Lion Head!"

"Ugah! Damn it, there's an accomplice!"

"Mwah, hah, hah. The immortal desert king, Desert Man, has risen from the depths of Hell!" Desert Man popped his main body from a bunch of sand in the existing ceiling segment.

"Hmpf! Then go back to Hell, gramps!"

Destruction Man opened his chest compartment revealing a big built-in cannon which was loaded with energy: he shot several energy blasts at Desert Man's face, inflicting some damage: he growled and formed a giant "Lion Head" which flew for Destruction Man as Cold Man flew towards him having opened his body's doors.

"White Breath! White Breath! White Breath! White Breath!"

"You're done for!"

"So ya think!"

Destruction Man jumped away from the generator's top as the White Breath hit the Lion Head, turned it into ice, and it fell into the generator's barrier top, shattering but without affecting the barrier: Destruction Man had formed a skateboard with multi-directional jets on the underside and used it fly across the air: in the meanwhile Desert Man growled at Cold Man who fumed.

"Whose side are you on, you damned mice!?"

"Hyuuuhhh! Like I could predict THAT! Old-timer!"

"So… It'd seem you want to die by my blade." Freeze Man dully muttered through the speakers.

"Ugoh! I obey, I obey!" Desert Man gasped.

"Hyuuhhh! I obey, I obey!" Cold Man made a reverence.

"You better do." Freeze Man drily warned.

"Great Lion Head!"

"Iceberg Press!"

Cold Man compacted and flung himself towards Destruction Man while Desert Man formed a giant "Lion Head" and had it fly towards Destruction Man by circling the room's perimeter and making sure it wouldn't cross paths with Cold Man: Destruction Man hit his punches' knuckles together and they began to turn into crimson red as energy built up into them: he aimed them at each enemy.

"Power Fist!"

His forearms shot forward linked to the arms with a steel wire that extended from a small hole in the upper half of the arms' cross section: the left one hit Cold Man and bounced him away making him crash into Desert Man (who'd reformed atop the generator) while the right one shattered the "Lion Head": Cold Man broke through Desert Man's "face" and hit the energy core with his accumulated energy: the core grew in size and began to absorb everything around it including Cold Man and the generator's barrier before it exploded and it made the emitter fall inside and break from the shock: Destruction Man grinned…

10:29 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Fire Arm!"

"Elec Beam!"

"Ball!"

"Magic Saber!"

"Go, Fire Man! Burn 'em!"

" _Go_ , Elec Man! _Zap time_!"

"Go, Colored Man! Beat 'em!"

"Go, Magic Man! Open a path!"

"Heh, heh, heh… This is the last sky city, "Odion"… And the grave of fools who were nothing but clowns in the end…"

"Hmpf! Speak for yourself…"

The "WWW" Navis were fighting their way through the last of the "sky cities" with their Operators encouraging them: Freeze Man taunted them but Wily was hardly impressed.

"Who will go in, Wily – sama?" Maha asked.

"Hmmm… Going by the information, the remaining Darkloid of Shade Man's group is Video Man… In this case Elec Man should have an advantage given the guy's weakness to EM."

" _Oh yeah!_ And then I'll go bust _aniki_ and _silly_ Tesla once and for all! Just you wait, _aniki_!"

"Don't get cocky!" Wily grumbled.

"Yikes! R-roger, sir!"

"Also, Elec Man. Just because you have advantage don't take them lightly. It's very possible they're going to try to use the terrain to their advantage like they've been doing in the last 2 battles." Wily warned.

"Roger, sir."

"Be cool and rational."

"Understood, sir."

"Sheesh." Hinoken grumbled.

"You were saying?"

"Nothing, sir!" He gulped.

"Now! Elec Man!"

"Thanks, Fire Man!"

Fire Man had used his Fire Arm to burn a bunch of Spark Bees heading for them so Elec Man quickly dashed and got into the generator room while the others fended off against Spark Bees, Mettools, Ghostlers and Curzdos: Elec Man saw that the room was all painted green and that instead of the generator there was a thick column made of black and smooth stone.

"Lights! Camera! Action! Video Man – sama has come to record your agonic demise, forever!" Video Man's voice boomed.

"What's with the green?" Count Elec wondered.

"Green screens, used in cinema and TV to add digitally rendered backgrounds…" Wily explained.

"Exactly! Action!"

The ground turned into a river of magma with rocky shores, the walls turned into reddish soil hills illuminated by the magma, and the skies were covered in reddish clouds and fog.

"Welcome to Mustafar!" Video Man laughed.

"How original." Wily grumbled.

"Come out and fight me." Elec Man demanded as he readied his Elec Blade and scanned the surroundings.

"And in the middle of the room you can see Orthanc, the tower of Saruman the White!"

"I don't give a crap. I'll find you."

"However! This background isn't harmless! Heh, heh, heh."

"Oh yeah? Why that doesn't surprise me?"

"Mwah, hah, hah. Skeptical audience indeed."

"I've got no time to play games with you."

"Mugrooohhh!"

"What the hell? Sheesh. Koopa from the _Mario_ series?"

Koopa suddenly appeared atop the black column surrounded by flames and chuckling as he held a sphere of magma some inches over his extended right hand: he tossed it at Elec Man who jumped into the air to cut it but it was a hologram: Koopa turned transparent too and Elec Man fumed as he looked around.

"Heh, heh, heh…"

"Wait, I see… He's recording your movements to then spam that "Recording Playback" to create copies of you infinitely and have you fight them forever." Wily warned.

"Sheesh." Video Man grumbled.

"He might be closer than we think. Maybe he's the type to look down on others literally so… Get out to the rooftop!"

"I won't let you! Wide Cutter!"

"Ah. So there he was, huh?"

Video Man suddenly appeared atop the column and shot a roll of tape towards Elec Man but he hovered upwards to dodge: he then propelled himself towards Video Man who'd already readied another roll: he shot it at Elec Man but he cancelled the jets to drop into the ground and took the change to shoot at him an electrical attack he'd readied: Video Man yelped and stepped back while checking his chest's "playback" button: he formed a small Dream Aura to shield it as he extended his armlets and aimed his tape forward.

"Playback! Playback! Playback! Playback!"

Copies of Elec Man began to form and did the initial jump plus sword slash as they converged on the real one who was hardly impressed: he instead drew his Elec Sword and loaded it with electricity he drew off the black column: he then swung it to produce a blue disk of electricity which shot across the air and cut through many of the copies: Video Man hissed and began to spam more copies.

"Hmpf. Like I'd predicted…"

"Playback! Playback! Playback!"

"Heavy Shake! Hraaahhh!"

"Huh!? What are you doing!?"

Elec Man suddenly formed the Heavy Shake Battle Chip and jumped into the air while loading electricity on his Elec Sword: he hit the metal with it and a powerful electromagnetic wave ensued, destroying all copies and making Video Man's body frizzle: he roared as all backgrounds reverted to normal and the black column vanished to reveal the generator the barrier of which was also flickering: Elec Man grabbed the still electrified piece of metal and threw it at the barrier: the physical hit and the excess electricity overloaded the generators so Elec Man flew towards the ceiling but Video man suddenly appeared behind him while expelling tape which wrapped around Elec Man.

"Quick Load!"

He began to reel the tape in and it began to cover Elec Man's body as he struggled to break free.

"I'll wrap you in tape and toss you into a real volcano! Regret messing with my precious VFX!" He hissed.

"I disagree. Fire Arm!"

"Ugooohhh! My tape's burning!"

"Go, Elec Man! I'll handle things."

"Thanks. Owe you twice today."

Fire Man suddenly rushed in through a dimensional tunnel and shot his Fire Arm at both of them, burning the tape: Elec Man continued flying for the ceiling and broke it to exit outside: he placed both hands on the emitter and roared as he emitted electricity from his body to overload it and make it explode: he looked at how Fire Man was fighting Video Man with his fire attacks and smirked.

"Damn you all! This isn't over yet! _Eject_!"

"Ran away, huh? No big deal. Let's return to the base, guys!"

10:42 AM (Japan Time)…

"… How odd. All emitters have been destroyed but the barrier around "Dycroft" is still active, Sir Omega."

"Something's odd."

"True."

Omega, Blood Shadow and Sigma were standing on the "shell" right next to the colossal barrier surrounding "Dycroft" and were puzzled at how it was still working.

"Boss?" Omega asked.

"… Fuck! Turns out that was _an extra barrier_ to camouflage this one, the real one! Which is emitted by the "God's Eye" inside of "Dycroft" itself! They got us!" Vadous cursed.

"Damn."

"Mwah, hah, hah. Despair! The era of darkness now begins! The last shot is ready! And no-one can stop it!" Twilight's voice boomed out.

"Oh shit!"

There was a powerful rumble as the main cannon shot again and they saw how purple energy streaks jumped out from "Dycroft": the few remaining gaps in the "shell" closed completely encompassing the whole of the Earth in the "shell": the group cursed under their breaths.

"… What's more! The barrier is powerful but it's not infinite! It can be overloaded! Same with the previous one! Shit!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! All of your "heroic struggle" was pointless! Taste the despair and hopelessness! Humans! This is Judgment Day! The Demon Tribe has risen from Hell to bring down judgment! In the name of the almighty IQ – sama! All of your "heroes" are but rubbish! They all perished in our bases, died a dog's death!"

"Damn. We need to counter that at once or else the whole world will really fall into despair and panic." Omega hissed.

"Oh, by the way, _kyoudai_ … The missy was never here! So there was no hostage to hold you at bay! Blame your paranoia!"

"Fuck you, Liquid!" Vadous growled.

"I didn't say anything about a hostage myself, you know? You're the one who assumed that! You and your feral pet…"

"I'm not a feral." Omega growled.

"Those three want so badly to be scouts, so be it… Come and have a look at the decoration by Calatrava." He laughed.

"Very funny!"

A "portal" opened so the trio stepped in to reappear inside of a wide round hall made of white marble and having chandeliers hanging from the ceiling: there were some spaces which had red velvet armchairs with golden edges as well but no apparent doors anywhere.

"Sheesh. It does retain some of the look in the games but he's reshaped everything. It obviously won't work like in the game." Omega fumed.

"Heh, heh, heh… By the way, I see the remaining fellows have split in two groups to defend both Science Labs and your Internet City… Oh well. I'll ignore them since this place will soon be full of guests who will be busy figuring out their own weaknesses…" Twilight's voice echoed from everywhere at once.

"Indeed… Heh, heh, heh… The party will soon begin to stay there and wait for the other guests to arrive… All Freeze!"

"What!? Ugah!"

The whole area got frozen in the blink of an eye and the trio caught inside of thick blocks of ice as Freeze Man appeared atop the central round platform into which four stairs converged: the corners had those spaces with the chairs and the walls suddenly slid open to reveal wall-wide mirrors with silver frames: instead of showing a reflection of the room they showed pure blackness with some vague silhouettes having purple eyes making odd moves inside of them.

"The banquet of love and despair will soon begin. And the honor guests will be famed people indeed." Freeze Man gloated.

"Heh, heh, heh. So wait there for the banquet to begin…!"

 _Shit! We gotta break outta these, and soon…! I gotta think of some plan…!_


	14. Chapter 14: Between sword and wall

**Chapter 14: Between the sword and the wall**

11:08 AM (Japan Time), Saturday April the 22nd…

"… Welcome to the banquet of love and despair!"

"The fuck?"

"Sheesh. What happened?"

"Heh, heh, heh. You've been invited to the banquet of love and despair, as Twilight – sama said… Welcome to "Dycroft"!"

"What!?"

"What are you going to do!?"

Netto and Meiru got suddenly warped into the room and they looked around, surprised, before they looked up towards Freeze Man's location: they weren't too impressed.

"The barriers we use also work as "Dimensional Area" so go ahead and do your precious "Cross Fusion"… Before someone suffers the consequences of your refusal." Twilight threatened.

Both hissed under their breaths as they readied their PETs.

"CROSS FUSION!"

Both performed "Cross Fusion" successfully and got in fighting stance as Freeze Man chuckled and snapped his right hand's fingers: a hatch opened on the ground before one of the stairs and an oval mirror with golden edges and base emerged: two undefined black shadows with purplish eyes could be seen inside of it.

"…Loves take on the shape of a kaleidoscope… You see a bewitched illusion… This is a boundless mirror world… PHANTASMAGORIA!"

The mirror shattered and the shadows became grey-colored copies of Rock Man and Roll having psychotic glares and grins: they both clasped their hands together in mid-air and did a dancing pose as they recited something: there was a flash before the fake Roll was surrounded with a mirror-like bubble while the fake Rock Man ran out of a rectangular mirror that formed on the ground with two Long Swords drawn: "CF" Netto blocked him by quickly drawing a Neo Variable Sword.

"What the hell?"

"Heh, heh, heh!"

"Sheesh!"

The fake Roll hovered in the air moving in arches while shooting purple spheroids of energy in an arch which "CF" Roll was struggling to dodge: she laughed and "CF" Roll fumed.

"Heh, heh, heh!"

"Tee, heh, heh!"

Both then warped away: fake Roll reappeared on the middle of the area and formed small energy spheres colored pink which drew an arch and spread downwards: two mirrors formed in the air to both sides of the fake Roll and two fake Rock Men dashed out of them in a diagonal trajectory while crossing each other in mid-air: the "CF" users dodged the attack as the enemies warped again and reappeared hovering in the air: the fake Roll then formed bubbles with "hearts" inside which she began to shoot in rows and in all directions while the fake Rock Man formed a white energy mass which shot energy beams in eight directions and was rotating: there was a flash as both swapped places and repeated the attack: the "CF" users employed Dream Aura to block the spheroids and moved following the pace of the beams: both laughed as they warped away and jumped back in the mirror they'd emerged from which retracted back into the ground: both "CF" users panted.

"Was that enough of a heating up?" Freeze Man taunted.

"Rascal…!" CF" Netto groaned.

"Cowards…!" "CF" Roll hissed.

"Listen, you foolish humans! We are the so-called "Demon Tribe"! We escaped our decaying world and came here to make of it our new home, a long time ago! We fought your ancestors, the Eru! With their technological prowess they managed to seal us but couldn't destroy us, afraid of being called genocides! So they left the task to you, their inheritors, as they left this world for another one! If you want to hate someone for this, hate them! And their stupid "messages"!"

"What the hell?" Omega grumbled.

"Those giant drawings? Those mysterious statues? What part of them conveys "they will revive and your job is to cleanse up our mess"? Hypocrites, all of them!"

"Sheesh. He's mixing in the first game of _Wild Arms_." Blood Shadow grumbled.

"How original." Sigma grumbled next.

"Oho! Don't move."

"Sheesh!"

"CF" Netto and Roll had tried to go help the trio but Freeze Man formed a cage of ice around them stopping them from doing so.

"Heh, heh, heh… I've brought all of the team members here and I'm having them fight their own shadows… But they're not cheap rip-offs, no! They have same programs and stats as the original and an AI which has records of past battles and can use them to decide the better strategy to use! Each one is locked in a totally sealed off room from which there's no way out unless one of them combatants dies." Twilight announced with eagerness.

"What the…" Omega cursed.

"There's an exception… I'm having Nelaus face Bapgei! Since they're fated to fight forever! Such is the fate they bear!"

"Cut the crap." Sigma fumed.

"Tee, heh, heh. Alright, all's ready!"

Anaya appeared next to Freeze Man while equipped with a black armor identical to the one Freeze Man and his men used: she had the helmet on the right hand and was gripping a sword's hilt with the left hand.

"I've got a score to settle with you little bitches… Heh, heh, heh."

"Where's Karazawa?" "CF" Roll demanded.

"Dunno. Maybe the smug little rich bitch actually hid her in her basement to train her?" She laughed.

"Don't make fun of Yaito – chan like that." She hissed.

"Yeah… That anger, that humiliation, and that rage… Excellent indeed!"

"Sheesh. Bring it on!"

"Tee, heh, heh. Alright! To the battleground we go!"

She put on the helmet and unsheathed the sword which she aimed upwards: both were warped out as the ice cage expanded in size: Freeze Man warped inside, chuckling, while Omega and the others were warped away as well.

"My men will handle the mice. We improved their abilities! And so we come full circle! Ever since our first battle about four and a half years ago… Heh, heh, heh…" He chuckled.

" _Kyoudai_! You're so eager to come, then come! I'll settle the score with you once and for all today!"

"Sheesh! Fine!" Vadous grumbled over Netto's radio.

"Obviously enough most humans in the surface have no idea what's going on here… Heh, heh, heh. So much for their intelligence agencies! And we jammed the Net Police and Science Labs so they're unable to monitor what's going on either."

"And don't expect "miracles"! This time IQ – sama brought the hostage here! If the alien dares to interfere, the hostage dies! So much for an alien who's supposed to contribute to "stability"!"

"Cowards!" "CF" Netto hissed.

"Damn you! How many more need to suffer because of your lust?" Rock Man hissed.

"Hah! We only united an already existing business! We didn't invent it: we simply took control of it!"

"And don't blame us for what that stupid "Ice Planner" did. The guy acted on his own." Freeze Man added.

"That bastard…! Deserves to rot forever…!" Both hissed.

"Calm down! Now's not the time for that! Focus!" Vadous ordered.

"Hu! Y-yes, sir!" They snapped out of it.

"Heh, heh, heh. Saved by the snake?" Twilight mocked.

"You're a snake too." Vadous shot back.

"Enough chit-chat!"

"Sheesh. You jammed the channel!"

"Indeed! Icicle Fall! Ice Tower!"

"Magma Stage!"

Freeze Man made icicles rain down followed by generating Ice Towers around the area to make movements difficult: "CF" Netto tossed a "Magma Stage" capsule into the ground to melt the ice but Freeze Man was hardly impressed: he roared as he formed electricity around him.

"What!?"

"…The holy blade wrapped in thunder sparkles… Azure thunder's outrage: pierce the enemy… SPARK CALIBUR!"

Freeze Man suddenly formed a huge azure blade frizzling with electricity and shot it forward: it stabbed into "CF" Netto's body and thrusted him into the far wall where he got stuck: electricity jumped off the blade and electrocuted him, the power expanded due to the ice that made up the cage.

"Uwaaahhhhh!"

"Hah, hah, hah! This isn't over yet!"

A song began to ring out as a cyan-colored aura formed around Freeze Man and he built up energy.

"…The Singing Fairy's singing voice echoes around… The dragon's hoarse voice resounds… Flesh and body, become a Thunder God… UNLIMITED VOLT!"

He charged up more energy which he shot into the giant blade: "CF" Netto screamed in agony along with Rock Man: Freeze Man gloated but then a wrecking ball broke through the cage behind him and hit his back making him fly across the space and hit the blade: the electricity began to assault him instead while the wall behind "CF" Netto was shattered by a blow and a figure grabbed him and jumped away.

"Hang in there!"

"Y… Yuriko…?"

"Hang in there, my friend!"

"K-Knight Man, too…?"

The rescuers were "CF" Yuriko and Knight Man who looked at him as they'd laid him face-up on the ground: most of his Cross Fusion had begun to break away and he had burn marks on his face's skin.

"What!? How did you get here!?" Twilight roared.

"Same way we could get into the generator rooms: dimensional tunnels. You didn't include them in the calculations. Or us. Mr. Yami." "CF" Yuriko shot back.

"Damn! So that's why I couldn't find you to drag you into a battle with your shadow!" Twilight hissed.

"Oi. Don't look away! Eat this!" Vadous warned close by.

"Oomph! Damn it!"

"I found the so-called "God's Eye" but it's protected by an energy-absorbing barrier which disperses the energy into the outer shell of the fortress…" Laser Man reported.

"I see. They did make sure to protect the most critical point properly. Well, I don't think any of us can generate enough energy to overload the whole outer shell so let's focus on seizing these guys."

"Hmpf! Were it so easy!" Twilight scoffed.

"Kuh…! Guh…! Gah…! Damn it…! Tactical withdrawal! YOU cleanse up the mess! And you're not allowed to run away this time!"

Freeze Man managed to stand up somehow and grumbled something before warping away: Video Man got warped into the room with a horrified look on his face: "CF" Yuriko flipped across the air and landed in front of him.

"So? Coming or not?" She challenged.

"Grrr…! Playback! Playback! Playback!"

He formed the earlier copies of Elec Man who began to shoot electricity around the area but "CF" Yuriko simply placed a lightning rod to absorb it before she jumped towards him…

11:22 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Cosmo Ring!"

"Shotgun shot!"

"Cloud Thunder!"

"Eat sword!"

"Thousand Spears!"

"Sheesh."

"Swallow Cutter!"

"Scope Gun!"

"Gate Cannon!"

"Damn it! Sonic Boom!"

Blood Shadow, Sigma, Omega, "CF" Laika and "CF" Blues were fighting the "Darkloids" and Zoan Gate Man in a round, vast room devoid of any furniture or obstacles: Cosmo Man shot his Cosmo Rings at Blood Shadow who shot them back with his shotgun, Cloud Man formed clouds that shot thunders at Sigma who swung his giant sword towards him, Yamato Man's many spear attacks forced Omega into a defensive stand: Swallow Man put distance and shot several Swallow Cutters at "CF" Laika who intercepted them with his Scope Gun: Zoan Gate Man appeared behind "CF" Blues and shot a blast at him from behind which hit him so he turned around to shoot a Sonic Boom.

"Our power is infinite!" They all proclaimed.

"Sheesh!"

"You're but mice about to be crushed." Cosmo Man mocked.

"Heh, heh, heh. Vincent will drive you to madness!"

"This world is ours!" Swallow Man laughed.

"Hum! The will of Twilight – sama drives us forward!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Try to catch me, red kiddo."

"I'm no "kiddo", damn it!"

"Calm down, Enzan!"

"Easy for YOU to say! Laika!"

"Quarreling hardly solves anything."

"Roger, sir."

"Despair and die!" Twilight laughed.

"Oi. Don't look away!"

"Ow! Damn it!"

"Oops." The Darkloids and Zoan Gate Man nervously muttered.

"What happened to the earlier confidence?" Omega taunted.

"SHEESH!"

"Twilight's acting like Sauron… When he doesn't focus his mind on the Darkloids and giving them motivation then they lost confidence on themselves." Blood Shadow whispered.

"True. Maybe we can make use of that." Sigma agreed.

"Whatever you plot is IN VAIN!" Cosmo Man gloated.

"We'll cut you to pieces! With these "Diamond Blades"!"

They all drew "Diamond Blades" and rushed for their opponents: Sigma's, "CF" Blues' and Omega's blades glowed as they changed their composition to withstand the blades while Blood Shadow and "CF" Laika used energy shields to block them.

"Did you think we wouldn't have counter-measures to these by now? You take us too lightly, as always. So much "Dark Side" and that but in the end you're not much better than Shade Man and his men." Omega taunted them as he clashed blades with Yamato Man.

"Wha~t?" They all grumbled.

"Focus! Else…!" Twilight hissed.

"R-roger, sir!"

"I'll throw you into the ocean from here!"

"R-roger, sir!"

"Are you going to fight or are you only running in circles?" Vadous taunted Twilight.

"Sheesh!"

"Whatever the outcome is, we've left an imprint on the world! Which can't be wiped off!" Cosmo Man gloated.

"As diehard _otaku_?" Omega mocked.

"GHDCKHGTJD!" Twilight growled.

"Imitating Sauron doesn't make you stronger either. You're just diverting your attention between me and those idiots."

"Fine! You handle on your own! Use whatever means you deem necessary! But leave the humans brats in one piece, IQ – sama has plans for them!" Twilight growled.

"R-roger, sir!"

There was a click as he apparently switched off the radio channel: each foe then warped away into a different spot of the room and took positions: their bodies glowed with purple energy as they formed beams of energy that converged on a black crystal prism that formed in the middle of the room, hovering: purple energy built up inside of it as they suddenly warped out of the room: the prism began to glow with energy and the group gasped.

"It must be some kind of attack to delete data, I'm sure of it. Let's get out of here." Omega ordered.

He formed a dimensional tunnel and they ran inside while Laika formed one of his Satellite Lasers to monitor the situation: the group exited into the main hall where Knight Man was keeping watch of the unconscious Netto while "CF" Yuriko was checking the place: Laika opened the screen to see how the prism emitted beams of energy from all of its faces which deleted the ground and walls on touch exposing the room to the outside: some of the floor and walls and ceiling remained but most was gone: the Darkloids warped back in and looked around.

"What idiots. Like we'd stay behind to see what it did."

"Maybe they thought we'd get engrossed in trying to destroy it?"

"I've got an idea… Risky, but it might work! Satellite Laser!"

"CF" Laika had the satellite shoot the prism: it absorbed the energy and quickly began to form another mass of purple energy inside of it: the Darkloids gasped and began to try to absorb it back into their bodies but about three quarters of it remained when it expanded through the faces of the prism and spread all over the place: when each beam hit the Darkloid, their armors tried to absorb it only to be deleted without a trace exposing standard Navi bodies below them: in Zoan Gate Man's case it inflicted some wounds on his body.

"Yeah, from our analysis we'd seen that the armors actually had a body inside. Guess he did it for easier programming or as safety in case the armors got damaged. Also, nice idea there… Use their own energy against them…" Omega grinned.

"That should've weakened them considerably… Let's warp them to the Net Police HQ and have them seized…." "CF" Laika suggested.

"Damn it! That laser altered the composition of the "Dark Energy" and it turned into a low-power anti-matter!" Cosmo Man was cursing.

"Sheesh! We were sure they'd try to destroy it but they fled instead and laid a trap!" Cloud Man grumbled.

"Clever rascals!" Swallow Man hissed.

"Let's pull out, it's dangerous to continue in this state. Our orders contemplated that." Yamato Man told them.

"I can't contact Freeze Man – sama… I wanted to ask for permission but it'd seem he's got his radio off." Zoan Gate Man told them.

"You're not going anywhere." Omega got back into the room.

"DIE~!" They all rushed for him.

Omega shrugged and formed a gigantic "Monolith" beneath their feet which acted as a vacuum cleaner and sucked them inside before disappearing: Laika shut the footage.

"That Video Man "Darkloid" began to gloat about "absolute power" and Freeze Man suddenly appeared to silence him before fleeing. Yuriko – dono is trying to figure out how to find him." Knight Man explained.

"Well, we can always use the Monoliths and their dimensional tunnels to get the others out of those sealed rooms." Blood Shadow suggested.

"What's your take, Laika?"

"It doesn't look too grave. Heart beats and breathing are all under normal range and so his pulse." He did a quick check-up.

"And Rock Man?"

"He's gone into emergency shutdown mode too. We wanted to evacuate them but… Before fainting they both said that they didn't want to run away… What is your opinion?" Knight Man asked.

"Hmmm… Even if they don't want to they're hardly in a state to fight anyone…"

"Nevertheless it feels somewhat odd… Why bother to render him unable to battle so quickly?" "CF" Yuriko wondered.

"We all know Rock Man and he have a strong bond and their strength has allowed them to come very far… Or maybe they wanted to disable him so that then Anaya could abduct him easily..." Blood Shadow guessed.

"Very possible, too. I'm checking that there's no traps set up here. And we still need to find a way to destroy the "God's Eye" which is what keeps this "outer shell" stable."

"Hmmm… Maybe by making use of the dimensional tunnels we could direct the blast from the HQ directly into the barrier and have it overload: all of this is materialized data so once the energy source keeping it stable vanishes it will all self-erase or warp back to the Cyber World…" Blood Shadow thought aloud.

"Good idea. But first we must make sure to evacuate everyone. I'd say we should bring Hikari to a hospital for check-up and Rock Man to the Science Labs for repairs…"

"No… I used my self-repair program… I'm… alright." Rock Man suddenly materialized next to Netto.

"You don't look like it. At all." Blood Shadow pointed out.

In effect: he still had some open wounds and burn marks on his skin and his balance was shaky while he looked extremely tired.

"I-I've got it… The "Omega Soul"… I'll use it a-and… Defeat them… We started this, we must end it…"

"You didn't start anything. It was all Anaya's arrogance in using your DNA for her _Metal Gear_ recreation. And the coincidence that such technology really existed. You have no obligation to "end it"." Blood Shadow sighed as he argued with him.

"I'm tired… of being a bother…!"

"Nobody said you are." "CF" Laika directed one of his stoic glares at him.

"I am! You're all hypocrites!"

"Nobody's saying you are a hero or that you're not fulfilling your duty."

"You are! Behind my back! I know it!"

"You're not being rational. The electrical shock and the shock of the other day have overlapped and triggered anger." "CF" Blues told him.

"Shut up! Shut up!"

"Hmpf! So much for "unity", eh?" Freeze Man taunted through the speakers.

"Shut up." Sigma grumbled.

"And so much for "powered-up" Darkloids." "CF" Blue shot back.

"Hmpf. A little oversight."

"Little? Hah. Us being here wasn't plan or your calculations either because you are unable to counter the dimensional tunnels." "CF" Yuriko taunted back.

"Found you." A familiar voice rang out on Freeze Man's end.

"Damn! Zero! You defective!" He hissed.

"Yeah. I'm going to close you up too."

"Hmpf! So be it! I'll tear you to pieces!"

"See!? See!? You say I've got a duty and you steal it from me!"

"Nobody said your mission was to defeat Freeze Man."

"You need to rest."

"Yeah, while the world falls into panic!?" He hissed.

"We're not superheroes. We do what we can. We can't do the impossible." Blood Shadow told him.

"Yeah. Sorry, but I can't let you fight in this state. You need rest. If you let anger take over your body you're only going to destroy yourself." Omega warped back in.

"You…! You only wanted to make fun of me! The whole time! You didn't want to help! You're worse than them!"

"Evidence?" Omega was unfazed.

"Damn it! You're accomplices!" He signaled "CF" Blues and "CF" Laika.

"That's enough, Rock Man."

"Who…? Huh… Sleepy…"

A hand was placed over his shoulder which emitted a golden light which spread around him: he muttered something before his eyes closed and he lumped: Iris was holding him from behind so that he wouldn't fall and between her and Omega they laid him up on the floor.

"It's a technique I developed to turn off the pain sensors and trigger sleep mode. His pain sensors were overloaded and the association of electricity with pain must've awakened some traumatic memories." Iris explained to them.

"Alright. Let's evacuate them. Zero is taking care of that smug guy. How are the others facing like?" Omega asked.

"Xon' Edos found a way to disable the jamming so we can monitor them in live. Those "shadows" are really though because they have a cheat Recovery Battle Chip which heals 1000 HP at once and which they use when they fall beneath 250 HP."

"Sheesh. Alright! Knight Man, Sigma, Iris! Evacuate them to the Science Labs. In the meanwhile Oozono and I will try to search the computers here for any hints of where "Site A", the hideout of the human members, is at… And we must check if the hostage has been moved here or not. If that's the case then please take care of rescuing them, Oozono."

"Roger!"

The others evacuated through a dimensional tunnel while Omega and "CF" Yuriko warped to the control room Twilight had been at some hours ago: they found no-one there and thus Omega began to check the computer while "CF" Yuriko checked the area.

"This seems to be the control room of the cannon itself and not of the whole fortress." Omega told her.

"I see. So we need to find the control room of the whole fortress. But maybe this computer has a map we could use?"

"Seems so. Let's see…"

He switched the display to a cross-section of the whole fortress with various isolated small rooms scattered all across the space, the main hall near the top and a small room above it: the room where they'd fought the Darkloids before was right above the control room they were at: several hat two dots, blue and red, blinking inside of them.

"Hmmm… There's 3 empty rooms. I'll give you to the coordinates and you go check them." He instructed.

"OK."

"This is Blood Shadow. We reached the Science Labs without a hitch and they've begun Rock Man's repairs while they're taking Hikari – kun to the hospital for examination." Blood Shadow reported.

"Looks like those shadows can only use the cheat chip thrice in total so in the end it's more like an attempt to prolong the fight and make the other despair than a tactical advantage. Almost all have finished defeating them by now… Only remaining fighters are Colored Man, Balrog, Martin, and Misaki – san but they should be done soon." Sigma reported next.

"Good job. Stay on the Science Labs in case they try to pull something like a guerilla attack or something like that." Omega ordered.

"Roger, sir. How is it over there, sir?"

"We found a map. Now Oozono is checking if she finds the hostage. I haven't heard from Boss yet or from Zero but knowing them they must be handling well. Ah yeah. There's also Nelaus…"

"Roger, sir."

"Oozono here. One room was the maintenance capsules of the Darkloids and the other was a battle simulator."

"Alright."

"… This room is empty and only has "U SUCK" written on the wall with a red oil spray…" She fumed.

"How original. Alright. Check the topmost control room… Hmmm? Looks like there's a viewing area atop it and that's where Boss and Twilight are brawling… Avoid that room."

"Of course."

"The other rooms where the team members were fighting against the "shadows" are empty, I can check via live footage. It's possible that the hostage was never here, which wouldn't surprise me."

"Speaking of which… I just got told by Commissioner Kifune that they got a tip-off saying that an ex-member had seen Izono on Fukuoka yesterday… So they're doing a discrete search." Blood Shadow reported.

"Fukuoka, huh… If the Commissioner says so he must've had his reasons to think that that tip-off is worth it…"

"This is Nelaus. What a let-down. We got down to the punches without using Cross Fusion but he had less stamina than I thought he had… Huff, huff…" Nelaus reported.

"Huff, huff… Kuh…! This… isn't over yet, Nelaus!" Bapgei grumbled.

"You still want more, huh…? Fine! Bring it on!"

"Sakurai here… The madwoman tries to appeal as deadly but sucks at swords. Tries to intimidate me by decorating the room with GCI backgrounds… Of a BDSM dungeon, of course."

"Shaaahhhh! I'll turn you into my SLAVES!" Anaya hissed.

"Shoo, shoo. You're the slave of your madness."

"HOW DARE YOUUUU!"

"OK. If you need help then we'll provide it."

 _All I can do now is leave it up to the others' hands… I know they'll be able to handle things but let's be ready to assist just in case…_

11:46 (Japan Time)…

"… Hrah! Haahhh! Gruaahhh!"

"Guooohhh! Hah! Geh!"

"Now that's an intense brawl."

Nelaus and Bapgei, only wearing their pants and shoes and having taken off their shirts, were having a fist battle inside of a room which had a background depicting Gotham City from the _Batman_ comics: Isaac was standing at some distance as both ran for each other and punched each other on the faces: they both were panting and had some blows on their bodies yet they didn't look like they'd give up anytime soon.

"What point is there to this? You know this ends today…"

"Hah! The last struggle, as they say… I've survived tons of street brawls, wasn't going to admit defeat without having a real brawl with you! Which didn't rely on superhero-like setup!" Bapgei exclaimed.

"Hmpf…"

"You haven't had to grow to be strong on your own to escape an abusive alcoholic piece of shit who says who's your "father"… And how I beat the bastard down before running away to aunt's… But studying wasn't my forte either… So that's why I decided to become a gay slave volunteer, because I would get paid for an easy thing to do… And that's when Master appeared… And gave me a purpose!"

"I did have the feeling that something about the role you're supposed to act motivated you and it wasn't out of grand ambition… So that was it, huh…?" Nelaus tried to wipe off some sweat.

"Yeah! And now I can finally do what I'm the best at! Master filled the void in me, gave me a reason to feel proud of myself! You think that if Neo Gospel collapses I'll be out of job… Hmpf! The spirit won't die. I won't be able to pull grand stunts but at least I'll have a secret that makes me proud!" He grinned.

"Hmpf…"

"Still bitter at how easily I deceived you? Hah. Blame your friends for not sharing the info with you earlier."

"What's done is done."

"Hraaahhh!"

"Huh! Hah!"

Bapgei suddenly rushed at him with the right fist and forming an arch so Nelaus ducked to dodge but then received a knee blow on his nose: he groaned as he clutched it with both hands: Bapgei then dived for him and hit his chest with his head knocking the air out of Nelaus and forcing him to recoil: Bapgei also recoiled as he recovered from the blow.

"D-don't worry, Isaac… I can still go on!"

"Don't push yourself beyond your limits, Nelaus." Isaac warned.

"Hah… Been a while since I did this move… But my daily training pays off indeed… Well? Is that all, Nelaus?"

"Grfhgtj! Of course not! It's not over yet!"

"Excellent. You better be ready because I've still got some aces up my sleeves… Heh, heh, heh! The thrill!"

He rushed forward with the right fist and Nelaus stopped it with the right hand but he then delivered a kick with the right foot to the right hip to push Nelaus back and put some distance before he charged again with the left fist this time: he suddenly shifted to the right one and delivered a blow to the stomach area: Nelaus groaned as Bapgei began to suddenly delivered a barrage of several fists to the torso and head before he hit his forehead against Nelaus' head: both erratically stepped away, panting, and trying to keep their balance.

"Heh, heh, heh. You're just like the Jedi, Nelaus… Training for foes using either lightsabers or blasters… But not for someone who uses pure physical strength…"

"Sheesh… Huff, huff… D-damn it…"

"Nelaus! If you don't feel in condition to keep on then stop!"

"B-but…!"

"Now's not the time to go over "pride"! Your health is priority one!"

"I-I'm not done yet…! If not…! The hostage…!"

"Omega told me the hostage isn't here. And besides, Anaya is engrossed fighting Sakurai anyway." Isaac told him.

"Heh! Not like this is a duel to the death, either… I only wanted to see what you were really made of, to test you! You're my rival, but that doesn't mean I'm obsessed with destroying you… And I'm not a heartless coward either… This was but a test of strength." Bapgei told him as he wiped off some sweat.

"Huh? Really? Damn. And here I thought the hostage's life was at stake here… Say that earlier, man…"

"If I'd said it earlier you'd begun to say the brawl was pointless. It wasn't. I'm doing you a favor, Nelaus. By telling you that you need to improve your physical skills since you're too used to relying on that "Cross Fusion" thing… Once Neo Gospel collapses you'll find a lack of foes that demand the use of it… And your reflexes might grow numb… But I'll still be around…"

"He's got a point, I admit that. What do you think, Nelaus?"

"Fine… I agree on it, too… So let's call it a truce for now… Now I know where to find a serious trainer…"

"Heh, heh, heh. That's the spirit!"

"Well… I'm leaving' back to Melbourne. If you want a session then you can ring me up… For both brawl lessons… And some lemon." He blinked him the right eye.

"T-that doesn't mean we're buddy-buddy, though!" Nelaus looked away all of a sudden but didn't sound too convincing.

"Heh. _Tsundere_ , was it? Why not. See ya!"

Bapgei picked his shirt and stepped into an open "portal" to leave while Isaac held Nelaus and gave him the shirt as well.

"Regarding Bapgei… We'll let him loose, of course, since that's what we'd agreed upon. Whether you want to answer to his invitation is up to you guys. You're free to make your choices." Omega radioed.

"OK… Gotcha… I need a good shower!"

"Heh! That's the spirit, bud."

11:57 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hraahhh! Hah!"

"Hah! Hruh!"

"I'll overcome you, defective!"

"And I'll toss you in the brig."

"Hmpf! It'll only be a matter of time!"

"Hmpf."

Freeze Man and Zero were fighting in a room covered in ice and clashing their swords against each other but neither seemed to make much progress in harming the other.

"You'll never be able to capture Twilight – sama! And we will revive Neo Gospel over and over again! Even if he needs to wait for decades! When all those annoying humans rot away… Then no-one will be able to oppose him!"

"Most of the "opposition" is Net Navis like me. Unlike the AIs in the _Halo_ universe, we don't have a set "life" of only 7 years. Data doesn't decay with time. As long as the Internet and people with the skills to do Navi maintenance keep on existing… We can last forever."

"Hah! Sooner or later some will go berserk and trigger a "great destruction" like in _Terminator_ or the _Metal Max_ series! And like what the Darkloids led by Shade Man intended to do!"

"Hmpf. They were less than 15 of them against BILLIONS of Net Navis and humans. Even if they used large amounts of Viruses that didn't make them invincible. We had a numerical superiority. It was a pity that self-formed data life-forms only saw us as a bother and wanted to take all of the world for them alone…"

"Sheesh. What would a defective like you know?"

"I'm no defective. If Wily had the "Professor" as his assistant is because he was capable. The man's arrogance is what brought him down."

"Hmpf! I'll freeze you from the inside and shatter you to pieces!"

"Less talking. Prove it."

"Blizzard!"

"Hmpf."

A blizzard began to blow into the room and Freeze Man jumped away as if trying to blend with it so Zero readied his blade and began to scan the area to try to locate him: he jumped away as one of this pillars of ice formed on his location: another followed immediately afterwards: Zero cursed and used Area Steal but a column formed in the location he moved and he was trapped inside of the giant snowflake: Freeze Man then moved across the air, slashing seven times in a row with each slash cutting through Zero's skin: he finally dived from above and shattered the snowflake: Zero fell to the ground as he clutched some of his wound with the left hand: the weather had turned into hail and some began to cut through his skin or stab into his wounds: Freeze Man loomed in front of him with his blade's tip aiming at his neck.

"And so I prove that I was the superior! Farewell, defective!"

Zero, however, switched his blade for a Flame Sword and used it to block Freeze Man's icy blade's body: it immediately melted and Freeze Man merely let go of it as he turned around and walked away: Zero hissed under his breath and managed to get his feet as he tried to locate the man: his neck was suddenly pierced by another ice blade from behind but that didn't spot Zero who warped away and managed to pull the blade out by pulling from behind: he searched for his enemy again as big shards of ice with cutting edges began to fly across the area in all directions: he cursed and formed a "Salamander" to fly skywards and then dive into the ground: the resulting shockwave melt all of the ice and the snow but the floor also melted and he plummeted out of the fortress and towards the continent many kilometers below with Freeze Man looking down (literally) from the remains of the room, hovering on the air and crossing his arms: Zero cursed and warped back there and ignited his boots' jets.

"No more games, defective. It all ends here and now."

"Fine for me. I'm fed up with your little tricks, too."

Freeze Man's body began to glow with a black glow and he vanished leaving the armor behind which turned into an expanding sphere of black energy which engulfed everything around it: Zero cursed and tried to warp away but he was sucked into it and vanished…

12:08 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So? What happened to Zero, Omega?"

"He got warped into the room I'm at but has a lot of shrapnel stabbed overall his body… Guess fragments of the armor pieces."

"I see. The rascal suddenly vanished and I'm in the main control room trying to access the systems."

"How odd."

"Yeah. Also, the guy bothered to turn the outer shell into a green landscape like in the game too…"

"Huff. Anyway… Anaya ran away, too. I guess that she realized I wouldn't yield to her taunts and threats and plans to use the hostage as a means to impede us from catching her."

Vadous was checking a console in another control room which was similar to the one Omega was in but the walls were colored golden instead of blue color: "CF" Roll was standing behind him and having a bruise on her right eye as if she'd gotten punched there plus some cuts on her bodysuit and face too.

"But she got really desperate, to the point she turned into Catwoman from _Batman_ and began to try to tear me with her claws. Delivered a good punch to her jaw from below and then she ran away."

"I see. Doesn't surprise me. She's so random and unpredictable she'll pull whatever she feels like."

"Sorry for the interruption, _kyoudai_ … Had to wrap up something. Now, where had we left of at?"

"Huh. So you're back, huh?"

Twilight reappeared behind them while grinning and looking very sure of himself: Vadous whipped around but wasn't too surprised: "CF" Roll seemed to notice something.

"I can't feel the radio band I felt during the brawl with Anaya…"

"Of course. I cut it off to avoid it being used to backtrack IQ – sama!"

"Or maybe to RUN away from her?" Vadous suggested.

"Run? Me? Hah!"

"Alright. I'll be in the floor above."

"Roger."

"CF" Roll shrugged and warped away while Vadous unsheathed his swords and Twilight drew what looked like a white revolver gun with a device attached below the barrel and a modified muzzle.

"So… I had the last two "Special Skills" pending… Heh, heh, heh."

"They don't impress me."

"You haven't seen them yet, that's why! Let's go! _Souls of the demons and monsters I've slayed… Through the sins you've committed… Wipe out the greater sin_ … GUILT COMBINATION!"

He formed a swarm of fly-like objects that headed for Vadous at the same time he shot a pale purple laser: Vadous deflected the laser with one blade and jumped away to put distance with the flies: Twilight then shot an arrow of fire which Vadous dodged by side-stepping followed a big yellow laser that opened a blue-edged "wormhole": several formed around the room allowing the laser to travel in different angles and lengths and drawing a matrix to limit Vadous' movements before one opened right in front of him and hit him on the torso propelling him away: the "flies" then converged on him and began to use acids to melt pieces of his armor before dissipating: Vadous got back to his feet only to have to dive into the ground to dodge a green small drill that flew across the air for him: he was suddenly bathed in an odd beam of purple light and he managed to avoid looking at the source: a series of purple spheres of energy shot in a row ensued and he tried to slice them with his sword but the energy attached to the swords and made them feel numb and heavier than what they were: Vadous tossed them and readied his fists while Twilight laughed.

"So much for your precious swords! _Kyoudai_! Unlike you, I don't limit myself to them!"

"Whatever. Is that all? You did catch me off guard, I'll admit that, but that won't be enough to stop me."

"Of course not. I saved one last "SP skill"!"

"Sheesh. I talk too early!"

"Let's go! _I will destroy the evil spirits that threaten the world… Even my flesh is stained in sins… Sinner' soul: return to nothingness…_ FINAL LUST DOPPLER!"

Twilight formed three transparent copies of himself that hovered in air above and in front of him: they all jumped into the air one by one and they dived for Vadous while aiming the guns at him, marking him with laser pointers: the real Twilight then landed with energy on the floor and shot those purple spheroids at Vadous: he grumbled as he felt the armor turn heavier and limit his moves: Twilight quickly looked around and checked something before tapping his ear pads: Vadous frowned but then seemingly realized what he was trying to convey.

 _Codec system, huh? "Speak" without "speaking"…_

 _Yeah. Now, I want to ask you something. You realized it? You and Kanou did? That we were just a joke? Not part of a grand scheme like we'd been told during our education process?_

 _I had the hunch at some point and I confirmed it by hacking into the mainframe using my position as maintenance responsible. There existed no files about "grand scheme". What I found was a suggestion by Anaya to that Dolores scientist about whether she could program a limited lifespan in our genes like the_ Star Wars _clones and such but she said that she couldn't. It was an aspect she'd been ordered to research in when she worked for the government but she got stuck without finding a way to make that possible, one of the reasons of the budget cutting and the eventual shutdown of the program. The military wanted it, too. And since they couldn't have it they decided the program was worthless. And she'd added her own notes, it said "Oh well. Guess that if the need arises I'll just have them kneel before me before I blow up their brains"…_

 _I see… So that's what motivated both you and Kanou to quit, huh…_

 _Yeah. Survival instinct. When did you realize?_

 _I had a wiretap set on "Site A" in case they needed my help but couldn't contact me… And I heard a discussion between that person and Mr. Izono… Mr. Izono had been convinced that it was all a "grand scheme" as well but there never was any to begin with._

 _Aha-hah. Had the feeling._

 _Mr. Opoulos also believed on it and it was the main reason he suggested a partnership… Both were very, very disappointed. Mr. Izono actually was angered at that person._

In the meanwhile, both had resumed clashing swords and Twilight making some explosions happen in mid-air.

 _So you've realized that your faithful devotion was in vain. Because eventually when she grew bored of you, she'd dispose of you and replace you for something else._

 _Yeah… But I don't regret what I've done insofar: I've dared to travel across time-space to other "universes" and alter history… But I did it, ultimately, to challenge myself, to prove I would be worthy… I'm not asking for "forgiveness" or any of that crap. I just wanted to see if my hypothesis was right or not. At the least I will end all by fulfilling my desire to overcome you… But this is no longer for that person's sake but for myself._

 _Fine. So be it. I'm not going to be a hypocrite and pretend I never hated you every then and then for all of your actions. "Good" and "evil" are very superfluous. And so is "peace". Which is why I went with the more realistic approach of "stability"…_

 _Hmpf. Maybe that alien triggered something on me without intending to and unwillingly contributed to making me realize that I was seeing things through what I thought was absolute devotion and loyalty but in the end was no more than a spell… Also, the reason I had Freeze Man pull that cheat on the_ half-brothers _… I knew that that stupid Russian had shocked them by using drugs on them and thus they were still half-shocked and very prone to anger… I thought it would be unwise to let them fight with rage overtaking them least they pull a desperate move and actually kill themselves… Call it pity, call it cowardly, I don't care. I felt like they would end up becoming like Anakin Skywalker who tried to defeat Kenobi out of hatred and anger in Mustafar but was overcome because Kenobi put duty forward above of all…_

"Have you cut the dog's neck yet!?" Anaya hissed.

"I'm on it, my lady, but the dog's being as sneaky as ever!"

"Sheesh! Die! Else the bitch here dies!"

"Objection. Hrah!"

"Wha! Damn! You! The bitch's Navi!"

"Name's Scherezade, Anaya. And you know it. As for Mana – chan, Felicia already secured her. You're surrounded. Give it up."

"Net Police! You're all under arrest!" Manabe announced.

"Take your hands off me, you-! KZZZZZ!"

"Oh? So they found "Site A"… You leaked the location?"

"No. Mr. Izono did."

Twilight jumped away and then warped so Vadous followed him into the viewing room made of viewing glass with a steel frame: the whole of the "outer shell" could be seen which had turned into a green land instead of the brown dull raw rock it'd been.

"Unlike Mictlan, who was a very capable scientist who turned arrogant and believed to be the king of the skies, I'm not that foolish. I'll soon vanish from this world. I only demand one thing: let Bapgei alone. The man has a life to live ahead."

"That's what we intended to do anyway."

"Talk about an unsatisfying ending to all these years of strife, no? But not all in life ends "cool" like in the movies. There's always some cost to pay. You better don't grow rusty after I'm gone, _kyoudai_ … Because the real job will begin once I'm gone…" He let out a dry laugh.

"I know that. I never assumed it would be easy."

"Well then… Farewell!"

Twilight's body emitted a powerful white glow as he roared and a white sphere of energy formed from within his body which began to grow while it expanded, engulfing his body: the windows shattered and decompression ensued so Vadous escaped and returned to the control room: he booted up footage of the room as the sphere encompassed it all and then detonated in a shockwave: he sighed.

 _Well. Now let's have Xon' Edos help me delete all of this… Is this pity I feel now? Maybe so. Pity at my "brother" having been deceived for so long…_


	15. Chapter 15: A nostalgic feeling

**Chapter 15: A nostalgic feeling**

09:24 AM (Japan Time), Sunday April the 30th…

"… And then I performed my Higure Strike to beat those evildoers who wanted to steal the life and pride of Higureya…! De masu!"

"Evildoers…? Which…?"

"Pyurururu! Dunno!"

"Those mice that we found biting the cardboard boxes in the warehouse the other day…"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! I knew it! You suck at playing cool, Higure!"

"Talk for yourself, Masa – san! AKA Commander Beef!"

"EEEEHHHH!?"

"I knew it was a matter of time, anyway."

"Tee, heh, heh. Maybe someone told him?"

"Oi, missy! You did it, didn't you!?"

"And what if I did? Tee, heh, heh."

"Yaito – sama…"

A party was being held in the Ayanokouji mansion's gardens and Higure was trying to impress the Akihara Middle students with some exaggerated tale: Shuuko wondered what he meant, Aqua Man shrugged and Number Man sighed: Masa laughed but then Higure revealed that he knew his "secret identity": Shark Man wasn't surprised and Masa grumbled as he glared at Yaito who was giggling.

"At last!" Saloma let out a sigh.

"Truly." Miyuki sighed, too.

"Better late than never, I guess?" Wood Man shrugged.

"Agreed. Was fed up with this farce, has been going on for TOO LONG."

"But I did have my hunches, de masu! However! I've realized that I'm not the type of man Mariko – sensei wishes so I dedicate my love and passion to the rare chips! Masu! But that doesn't mean you'll be chosen, either!"

"Why this _otaku_ …!"

"Ahem. Mr. Masa. I don't think it's a good example towards the new generations to answer with a physical fight."

"Huh!? Who are ya!?"

"Ah yes. Utsuki Shingen. I teach history at a middle school in Densan City… We hadn't met before."

"Huh! A teacher…! Eh… Yes, yes, of course…"

"So that's the famed Commander Beef, Atsushi?"

"Yeah, Angou… Despite his name, uses a fish skeleton, a shark-shaped Navi and a fish's crests on the helmet…!"

Utsuki, Axe Man's Operator, was amongst the attendees of the party and he called for Masa's attention who gulped when meeting his dull look on his face: Angou, Destruction Man's Operator, was asking Atsuhi, Balrog's Operator, about him in a whisper as they stood a few meters away: neither were too surprised.

"And then I ran into the hideout of those twerps and they began to yell something like a movie's curse or whatever! Mugroooh!" Balrog told the other two.

"How lame." Axe Man fumed.

"Heh! They shouldn't see horror movies at midnight!" Destruction Man laughed.

"And? She's recovering?"

"Steadily but these things leave scars that not always heal…"

"We know. But at least she still has the will to live?"

"Yeah. At least she still has it… And her stubbornness helps somewhat. She's purposed herself to not to lose to that madwoman's poisonous tongue."

Roll and Aura were talking with Scherezade in a corner of the Cyber World garden as Guts Man was having a match with Ice Man: Glyde was the referee while Sigma and Blood Shadow looked on along with Davis and Lander.

"More like worm-tongue."

"Yeah! Exactly. Anyway. She doesn't blame you guys and gals for what happened, it was unpredictable… And she'd brought it on herself in a manner as well."

"Well, that's also part of it. Of admitting one's own mistakes."

"… I wasn't paying attention. What's the deal with the old guy?"

"Oh, that? Well, Sakurai knows the full tale…"

"Yeah. It's a stupid farce that's kept up for too long…"

Karazawa looked up from the book she was reading ( _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ ) as she sat in a chair below the tree-house: Meiru and Tamashita had also been sitting there to her left and chatting amongst themselves.

"Masa – san is the local fish-store owner. Always said he has zero idea of modern tech and all. But in truth he's a "Net Agent", a series of skilled civilians picked to help protect the Cyber World from threats and do undercover investigations… A precedent to the "Net Savior" system. So to hide that he made up an alter-ego which he named "Commander BEEF" despite all of him being fish-related imagery. Many of us saw through that years ago but Higure – san, being on his fantasies, didn't notice. And I think Mariko – sensei, our elementary school homeroom teacher, didn't because she didn't bother to pry too much into the topic. Problem is that both compete to earn her love." Meiru narrated.

"I see. And? Neither has ever gotten it, right?"

"Right. Because _sensei_ has no love interests. So they're resorted to the so-called "Platonic love" which is admiring from afar and trying to uphold a "romantic" relationship… Something that often appears in old poems and such about impossible loves due to the class system and such."

"It'd seem that Higure – san has finally realized that it's been a waste of time altogether." Tamashita commented.

"About time. He spent years saying the "Bowl Man Incident" was only _weeks_ or _months_ ago despite that it'd been _years_."

"And why's that?"

"Well, back then he tried to invite _sensei_ to a date into the bowling lane although she didn't realize it was a date for the two of them so she invited me and Netto as well. Then he realized he'd always sucked at sports and wanted to go back but Number Man felt tempted to help him out and hacked the bowling program to make Higure – san score the whole time and have us unable to. Things complicated a bit when a Darkloid named Bowl Man began to run berserk but we solved the deal. Number Man learnt the lesson but Higure – san has spent years without wanting to learn the lesson." Meiru detailed.

"How lame." Both girls muttered.

"I know! And he's been going on with that behavior for _5 years_."

"Whoa."

"… And if you need to catch some steamin' and boilin' punks you can rely on the Analog Snatcher and the Digital Snatcher combination!"

"Don't exaggerate, Charlie~ Team…"

Charles was making a "cool" pose while Martin rolled his eyes and laughed at it: Yuuichirou chuckled at it while Haruka found it amusing.

"And then there was a rolling and slicing cycling coyote!" Charles suddenly improvised a tongue-twister.

"Did you copy that from Vincent?" Martin guessed.

"Nah. His are impossible to translate from Spanish to begin with."

"Ah. So here you were, Omega."

"Ah, Zero. What's up?"

"Have you found any traces of that rascal?"

"Yeah, we did. I cornered him in the Reverse Cyber World but then he boasted about travelling to the "Dark Galaxy" to reunite with Twilight and blew up for real, I seized the remains of the data."

Zero had met up with Omega who'd been looking at the match from some distance and asked him in a whisper so Omega replied.

"I see. Pity. Wanted to finally settle the score but things not always go like one would wish they went like."

"Yeah. But such is life."

"Good point. Alright. Going back to the Science Labs for security patrol with Colonel and Laser Man. After that of last week there's been a lot of wannabes and spies who've tried to breach in thinking they'd find the Neo Gospel tech in our databases but there's none, as you know. We also deleted all info on their weapons, too."

"OK. Ring me if you need a hand. I'll show them my Vaapad." Omega grinned and blinked him the right eye.

"Oho. That'd do WONDERS. Roger that." He got amused.

"Maybe you could do a YouTube show about that." Vadous (dressed in civilian outfit) was suggesting to Charles.

"Sure thing! As long as there's passion anything's possible!"

"By the way, where are Nelaus the twins?" He asked.

"They went into the manor, they said they wanted to check something but I dunno the what. But I can check through the corridor cameras if you want me to." Yaito offered.

"Maybe they just wanted to go the bathroom and discuss something amongst them… This week they've been rather calm and their behavior has been better but… I still think they'll need time." Yuuichour sighed as he looked towards the mansion.

"Ah! But don't blame yourself, Vadous – san. No – one is perfect. You couldn't predict that such a horrible thing would happen." Haruka told Vadous.

"If you say so, ma'am…"

"Today we came to have fun and enjoy so have some strawberry milk and switch off for a few hours."

"Ah… Thank you, ma'am."

"Speaking of which… Did you hear the news? Mr. Magnets and his daughter were arrested on charges of collaboration with the Neo Gospel terrorism and the Gauss Console will now be led by the VP who's been promoted to President by the board of directors but nevertheless the stocks have plummeted heavily."

"It was a matter of time, sir. Now that Neo Gospel is gone no-one will help them out. Also, Gauss Magnets had pulled bribes to get out of prison early despite having a long sentence on him for his acts as the visible leader of "Gospel"…" Vadous shrugged.

"They should invent "Neo Yaito Samba"!" Yaito laughed.

"I fail to see the point, miss." Vadous drily muttered.

"Yaito!"

"Yikes! Papa!? Weren't you at Los Angeles!?"

"That was 5 days ago!"

"Eeeehhhh!?"

Mr. Ayanokouji appeared behind Yaito to scold her and she blurted about him being elsewhere but he corrected her: Glyde sighed.

"Is that Mr. Ayanokouji Yukihiko, the Gabcom Inc. President?" Utsuki asked Atsushi in a whisper.

"Yes, sir. I've seen him from time to time. But I didn't know his first name, truth to be told."

"I didn't either." Hikawa admitted.

"Huh! You were listening, Hikawa – kun?"

"Sorry, I just happened to be standing next to you and…"

"Hikawa Tooru – kun, was it? Your father, Mr. Hikawa Seiji works in the Waterworks, yes?"

"Ah… Yes, sir. But is it relevant, sir?"

"Ah, no. I just have the habit of remembering names in case I meet paths again. No, there's nothing wrong."

"Ah. I see, sir."

"Guts! Guts Man will become Ultra Guts Man!"

"Oh, yeah? How?" Blood Shadow asked.

"With fighting spirit!" Sigma laughed.

"Y-yeah! That, and GUTS!" Dekao tried to play strong.

"Then I'll teach you how to…!" Masa began.

"Do you have a teacher license, Masa – san?" Utsuki questioned.

"Ah… Eh… Hum… Well, but some years ago I had them do exercise and learn about fishes and so… When that robot aquarium rampage incident…" He admitted.

"I see."

"Ah yes, I remember that. We'd managed to shake off the shark robot but then you began to laugh and it came back." Meiru recalled.

"Oops! Remember I have something important to do! Don't forget your calcium, kids!"

Masa ran off like he was being chased with no-one being too impressed: Utsuki barely raised his right eye's eyebrow.

"Ayanokouji – san, did you place that gargoyle hologram inside of the tree-house? It scared me!" Obihiro complained to Yaito as he rushed towards her from the tree-house's tree.

"Ah… Well… Y-yeah…"

"And what were you hoping to achieve?" Mr. Ayanokouji questioned.

"T-to pull a prank… N-nobody would get hurt…"

"But people with a weak heart might suffer a heart attack from the sudden shock!" He scolded.

"Ah! T-that's…"

"Here I bring more strawberry milk and… Kyah!"

"Who…? Sheesh! It had to be you! Kiryuuin Sakurako!"

One of the maids was pushing a trolley with some strawberry milk bottles and some cups towards the tables when she tripped with a small hole in the garden: Yaito looked over there and recognized Kiryuuin, the youngest maid who always brought trouble along.

"Yaito! I haven't finished speaking to you."

"Yikes! S-sorry, papa! I won't do it again!"

"You better don't. Else investors will become worried."

"Yikes!"

"Hello! How's everyone?" Mariko came in with Yuriko.

"Ooohhh! Mariko – sensei! Let me tell you one thing, de masu!"

"If it's about Masa – san I've known for years."

"EEEEEHHHHH!?"

"I pretended not to because I didn't want to hurt his feelings but I was beginning to grow tired of his behavior so I told him a moment ago when I crossed paths with him, he apparently wanted to give me a bouquet of flowers to try to make side with him. Yuriko directed him one of her glares and he ran away like he was chased by a wild cat."

"Yeah. He was almost stepping into personal space so I had to warn him that I could report him for invasion of personal space and possible harassing in public." Yuriko sighed.

"Shah, shah, shah! The guy won't change!" Needle Man shrugged.

"Meijin and Dr. Regal decided to stay behind at the Science Labs to oversee security along with Dr. Wily." Yuuichirou was telling Vadous in the meanwhile.

"Wise move, yes."

"Looks like the WWW guys are doing some training as well." Sigma told Blood Shadow.

"Yeah. Well, they go on. Although Count Elec must be disappointed at being unable to settle the score with Gauss Magnets."

"Hello, Reclaimers. The equations of infinite are fascinating indeed, I could spend hours analyzing them." Spark hovered in.

"I decided to come have a look in Anderson – sama's instead since he's busy with exam preparations." Annihilator Man also came in.

"Obviously. I've got a bunch soon, too." Atsushi admitted.

"Me too… So I can't spend too long here." Angou sighed.

"Oh yes. This party is only during the morning so."

"But it works as a way to disconnect from tension for a short while."

"Of course. Dr. Hikari."

"Charles – kun! Tell me the secret of love! De masu!"

"Secret of love? Huff. I never had luck with girls, Higure – san. Neither me nor Martin although he did have a stalker."

"Ursula Magden, yeah. Chasing after me all the time, all over a fight over lands possession our families' ancestors had had." Martin rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Is that so, de masu…? Ah! Hikari – san, please tell me, ma'am! What is the key to love? De masu?"

"Hmmm… Hard question… It's all up to each person, in my opinion. The chemistry between people…" Haruka thought aloud.

"Miyuki – san, will I have a glorious future? De masu?"

"That's up to you, Higure – san. I might be a fortune – teller but I can't tell the long-term future." Miyuki shrugged.

"What's with the rush?" Saloma asked, surprised.

"It's the call of fate! De masu!"

"Hardly." Number Man wasn't impressed.

"Huh… The call of fate? Sounds very difficult…"

"Dunno! Pyurururu!"

"Aqua Man, let's go play! Desu!"

"Yeah, let's go play! Pyurururu!"

"By the way, the "Committee" will still continue as a private detective agency and security company, no?" Yuuichirou asked Vadous.

"Yes, of course. Mr. Admin decided so years ago. The Net Police also appreciate the help that they've provided during all these years."

"… And thus the equations of the infinite lead to an infinite equation which leads us to ponder the mass of the Universe and…"

"I think Anderson – sama overdid it…"

"Hmm? You were saying?" Anderson opened the Operator window.

"Huh! W-well, sir. I think Spark's behavior is exaggerated." Annihilator Man pointed out.

"Hmmm… True… Guess I overdid it, yeah."

"Hello. Dr. Lartes suggested we came have a look." Iris walked in along with Trill.

"Yay! Ice Man and Aqua Man!"

"Yay! Trill! Desu!"

"Yay! Trill! Pyrururu!"

"Alright. You can play with them, Trill, but be careful."

"Do not worry, Iris – sama. I shall take responsibility." Glyde offered with a courteous bow.

"Oh. Thank you."

"And then the rattle brought upon the albatross!" Charles made a joke.

"Is that supposed to be some local joke?" Martin laughed.

"Believe it or not, Patrick told me."

"Ah, Nokay did? Guess he heard it from someone else in the "Justice Council", your imitation of the DC comics' "Justice League"."

"Yeah, wouldn't surprise me if that was the case." Charles admitted as he sipped strawberry milk.

"Oh? It looks like the missing guys are heading over here. They did go to the bathroom and now they're on their way back." Yaito told them after checking the PET.

"… Oh, I see. So happened to be members of a small online community and that's how you know each other despite different cities and ages, then? Interesting." Mr. Ayanokouji was talking with Utsuki.

"Indeed. People tend to look at them as childish but that's not necessarily the case. A lot of people of all ages can be found there."

"I see… Well, I've got some obligations to take care of. But maybe we will meet again, _sensei_. It's been a pleasure meeting you."

"The pleasure was mine, sir."

11:49 AM (Melbourne Time)…

"… Ah! Exciting! Yeah!"

"Heh, heh, heh. You're getting hard again, Cody!"

"Whoa! True!"

"Heh. Looks like his masochist instincts are intensifying."

"Sure."

Philip was playing with Cody in the basement room while Twilight (having civilian outfit) was sitting on a normal chair close by and calmly looking at how Philip was making candle wax drip on Cody's body and his cock got hard from the sensation.

"Nobody's been monitoring you?"

"Nobody. I got a letter from that Chief Lezareno guy saying that now that Master was officially gone there was no point in monitoring me. I've been checking just in case but found no indications of any monitoring. But I never saw any active one save for times they wanted to stalk me to figure out how I got to the hideouts."

"Alright. I was sure that _kyoudai_ would accept my demand."

"Surprised that you kept Freeze Man and abandoned the others."

"They were so incompetent. Even Cosmo Man and Yamato Man turned incompetent. Zoan Gate Man wasn't so much but what's done is done… It'd seem _kyoudai_ is spreading word that Freeze Man blew up trying to take Omega down so they're not searching for him either. Also, having a Navi with me makes me look like a normal programmer. I made up a fake curriculum and joined the Sydney Oracle Office. I do my job normally, but keep distances with the other workers. They don't find it odd: it's pretty normal for newcomers to be shy and reluctant."

"I see. What became of the others, though? They were caught and they've been locked to rot in the Navi Prison?"

"More or less. They're having them do restoration work of Internet City under heavy watch at nighttime. They got stripped of all of their abilities and reduced to standard Navis. Save for Zoan Gate Man who's been processed differently."

"Because he was originally a member of that Falzer Army?"

"Yeah. And his abilities weren't as easily disabled as the others'. For time being it'd seem they managed to take away his ability to form the "Remote Gates" but the many layers of encryption and protection I added to him are making battling abilities uninstall harder. Well, at least they have a challenge to entertain themselves for a while."

"I see. And I guess they keep each isolated because else they'd start blaming each other for their downfall?"

"Obviously. I know I could've improved their personalities but laziness and my fixation with _kyoudai_ blinded me. And Freeze Man did his best to handle them but it was spiraling out of control."

"By the way, what does "kyodai" mean?" Cody asked.

"Kyoudai. It means "brother". Since I imitate Liquid Snake I copy his form of addressing Solid Snake. Thought Bapgei had told you."

"I think I didn't…" Philip frowned and tried to recall.

"By the way, it'd seem you struck a deal with Nelaus?"

"Ah yeah. Whether he accepts it or not it's up to the guy. I expect he might not but… Who knows? Maybe he'll do."

"Heh. That'd be fun to see… He obviously is aware that I'm alive. So maybe he will try to see if he stumbles upon me to tell me how stupid I was to undermine his intelligence." Twilight chuckled.

"Surprised they let you go so easily." Philip pointed out.

"Guess they want me to feel the despair at knowing that all I did in the name of that person was never truly appreciated by that person… That person might've found them amusing at first but, with time, they grew impatient… And it led to the truth that there was never a "grand scheme" and they'd said that to fit with the atmosphere… Maybe they think it's enough punishment… for now."

"So in the future they might have you trialed and judgement brought down on your actions?"

"Very possible. I wouldn't care, anyway. My reason to go on right now is because I want to see the legacy I leave behind…"

"Like an artist who stops painting for some time to be able to reflect upon their works or the legacy they create?"

"You could say so."

He stretched and stood up as Philip began to stuff his cock into Cody's ass and have sex with him: Twilight got amused and picked a ping-pong racket to smack Cody's balls from the underside: he groaned so Twilight began to hit him several more times: Cody's cock began to get hard and Twilight gripped it with the right hand as he gripped the balls with the left one: Cody's groans and moans increased in volume.

"Feels too good! Too good…!"

"Heh, heh, heh. I missed this feeling."

"OK! Here it goes!"

Philip released and filled Cody with his stuff while Twilight gripped the balls again and Cody also released, with the spurts reaching up until his chin so he licked it with the tongue and swallowed it.

"Good reflexes indeed. Yeah, you guys are also one of my current motivations. To see how you inherit my training and apply it on your disciple…"

"Glad to know that, Master."

"Man. I lately feel… greedy?" Cody admitted.

"Could be. I felt like it from time to time, too. But with patience and concentration you can manage to calm down that feeling of greed, of wanting more." Philip told him.

"Good point."

"Sir. I checked the perimeter. Nothing odd." Freeze Man's voice radioed through a black and white PET with an Australian flag as emblem and which Twilight had on his chest pocket.

"Roger. Anything important on the inbox?"

"Nothing, sir. I disposed of spam, as usual."

"Good job. I'll soon wrap up so check up the bus timetables."

"Roger, sir."

"By the way… Was there a point in the game you took that from as to why they'd come up with all those flying fortresses?" Philip asked.

"Hum, true. This game hasn't been officially released in English… I think there might be a fan-translation somewhere but… Well. The context is: at one point in the world's history, a large meteor impacts the planet and the dust it raises covers up the Sun and plummets the whole world into an ice age… So that's when this project is designed, to migrate to a new land a few 1000s of meters above ground and above the dust… Preparations go smoothly until they began to realize a problem… That not all of humanity will fit in these sky-cities… And then the humans in charge of construction began to gain a feeling of being "elite" so… They made a revolt and turned the cannon into a weapon while becoming an army… That kicked off the war known as "Earth-Sky War"… In the end the Earth Army defeated the Sky Army…" Twilight narrated.

"I see… And so the whole migration project was abandoned."

"Yeah. With the passage of time, the dust settled and weather returned to normal although most of the tech of the age was sealed or lost due to passage of many centuries… Until some ambitious humans discovered the sky-cities buried in caves under the sea-floor… And revived them since the energy source, the "God's Eye", still existed… The reason they got sealed was because they feared that the damage to the environment, if destroyed, would be too great… And they couldn't find a way to destroy the "God's Eye" itself either…"

"Interesting. What game is it, by the way?"

"The 2 _Tales of Destiny_ games. Very interesting ideas indeed since it didn't heavily rely on magic but more like technology."

In the meanwhile, Philip had untied Cody and they were cleansing up by placing all things on place: they both dressed back and Twilight talked to them as he picked up his coat and a brown hat.

"Ah, yeah. I obviously use a different face when going into the street. I've been on TV several times, of course, so I can be easily recognized if I don't do so…"

"Obviously enough, Master."

"Let's head up."

They climbed some stairs and exited through a door into a small back alley somewhere: Philip locked the door and pocketed the keys as Twilight's face changed slightly and his hair became black instead while his eyes irises became brown.

"Alright. Stay energetic. Let's meet again next Sunday at the same hour: it'd be better for both to avoid electronic means of communication just in case and to leave no traces. I made sure to erase all data about you and make it look like "Bapgei" was but a Net Navi which got deleted. And the "leak" of some time ago got contained and the info destroyed. Only a small bunch know your ID but they won't tell anyone."

"Roger, Master."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye!"

Twilight walked away towards the left while Philip and Cody headed right: Twilight looked up at the sunny and cloudless skies and formed a bitter grin on his face before he resumed his normal, calm face.

"Is something the matter, sir?" Freeze Man asked.

"Nah. No big deal. Just that I'd never appreciated how comforting and assuring sunlight is until now… After having plunged the whole world in literal darkness… What'll be amusing to see is what legacy we've left behind and how history will view us. I can also kill time chasing wannabes like that "Ice Planner" and stop them from meddling around. They create unnecessary headaches." Twilight answered, grinning.

"Truly, sir. It's due to them that I couldn't fight Rock Man at his full potential. But maybe one day…" Freeze Man chuckled.

"Yeah. Maybe one day we'll settle the score but… Without relying on hatred or "malice" or the "dark side… Hah…"

 _So this is what "freedom" actually feels like and why so many have died in the name of it… Now I start to truly "live" outside of that person's control… For now… My role in this world has finished… Now it's your turn to build the future…_ Kyoudai _… And my_ half-brothers _… One day… We will settle things… In the meanwhile… We'll all live our respective lives…_

He chuckled under his breath and grinned…

10:17 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So? What did you want to ask us?"

"Yeah. Is there some problem you want to discuss?"

"Not exactly a problem but…"

"A doubt we had…"

Nelaus was sitting on a chair below the tree-house and with his back against the tree while Netto and Saito were sitting in front of him and diagonally each: Isaac was projecting with the PET's hologram.

"Remember that incident with the trap in the refuge and the subsequent "orgy" that Anaya had us go through?" Netto began with a sigh.

"Of course."

"Did you feel hatred at what happened?"

"At first. But I also knew Anaya was trying to fool Aura – chan into turning into an accomplice so I was more like annoyed than actually feeling hatred…"

"Yeah. I more or less felt the same." Isaac sighed.

"And what about the most recent case?"

"I felt totally violated and like I would go mad because all of my sensations were overloaded… I hated that. But some days later I realized during training that trying to motivate myself through the hatred hindered our "Cross Fusion"… And decided that I didn't need hatred to win. Because I remembered many who fell for that trap."

"Such as?"

"Well… The Sith Order. And Anakin Skywalker, too."

"Ah… True…"

"Now, I know they're fictional characters. So I tried to look for something real that I could use as guideline… And I found that movie about Nelson Mandela, _Invictus_ … And how the oppressed people of South Africa, instead of relying on hatred and doing the same to the people who'd oppressed them, didn't. Because they knew it'd be moot to have fought for freedom and then become worse tyrants than the others."

"Good point…!" Both muttered.

"I know I can't compare myself to the torments they all had to go through but… I thought they made several good points. Anakin spent the rest of his life dominated by hatred… So I thought I should avoid falling for that trap as well of that of "revenge"… Many characters in stories want to "avenge" someone but even if they do so… The person who died won't come back to life. They will have become killers themselves, too. And they will have realized it was all for nothing."

"Sorry to butt in, but… He's got several good points. I went over these reflections many years ago as well. At one point I was tempted to pay back the humiliation Anaya did on me by killing her but… Then I realized those same points." Vadous popped up from behind the tree.

"Ah. Vadous – san…"

"We're sorry for that of last week, we…"

"You needn't apologize. Like we said, nobody blamed you for Neo Gospel being born… And nobody said you had the obligation to end it all… Besides, they weren't the culprits of what happened. So taking out your rage on them, even if they were the enemy, wasn't exactly what a "Net Savior" has to do." Vadous picked a chair and sat next to Nelaus.

"Also… Would've just deleting Freeze Man have satisfied you? I don't think so. You would've tried to fight Twilight next but I'm afraid you wouldn't have been up to the challenge in that emotional state." Isaac argued as well.

"True." Netto sighed.

"It's just that… like Vadous – san said… We felt shame at how we'd lost against him back when the Internet City freezing incident. So we also wanted to have payback for that…" Saito admitted.

"I see. Thought as much."

"We're still young, guys. We still have a lot to learn and a long way ahead of us. It's natural for us to commit mistakes. The point is that we MUST learn from them. That's also what history is for." Nelaus pointed out.

"But, for now… Let's enjoy the party. And see if Guts Man can become Ultra Guts Man with fighting power alone."

"Heh. Dekao still hasn't given up on that?" Netto grinned.

"He'll never do. Remember how he went to Jawaii to train under the "WWW" members but it turns out they were losing to him in purpose to get rid of him since he wasn't contributing to the store?"

"And when he returned he tried to imitate Neo from _The Matrix_ or something similar. You should've seen that."

"I still have the memory data of that day, of course. I'll fetch it when we get back home and make a video from it."

"Really? Ooyama did so? When was that?" Vadous asked.

"Back on that day when Burner Man made his debut running berserk and causing trouble there and there… On that day we also got the "Guts Soul" Soul Unison too…"

"I see. So it was during the Nebula era… Well, as you know, we were rather busy bringing down Anaya and dealing with her empire of crime so I only got reports second-hand through the Committee, Zero and Omega who monitored happenings." Vadous admitted.

"I'd want to see that, too."

"Oh, sure. We'll play it when we do a meeting at the tree-house. Not like we want to humiliate Dekao, but as a way to remember good times and fun times… Like when Masa – san "trained" us since he considered we were staying indoors too much time."

"It's not like he's ever had bad intentions but all the farce of "Commander Beef" was too exaggerated. Miyuki – san and Saloma – san quickly admitted about it but he was too stubborn to do so."

"Alright. Let's rejoin the party. Dark Miyabi actually came over saying he wanted to have a share of the atmosphere before leaving for the mountains to train during some days." Vadous told them as he headed towards the tables.

The others followed suit as they saw how Number Man and Guts Man were having a battle with Number Man using his dice bombs to limit Guts Man's movements and slowly reduce his HP: Guts Man shot his Guts Punch at him but he used a Barrier to nullify the damage before he drew his stick and began to jump around hitting Guts Man with it.

"Go, go! Number Man! De masu! The Chip Soul, de masu!"

"Go, go! Guts Man! The Brawl Soul, man!"

"Brawl Soul? Hah, hah." Netto laughed.

"Maybe he needs an online match in the _Great Brawl Smash Brothers X_? Heh, heh, heh." Saito chuckled, too.

"I predict the soul of glasses will defeat the soul of karate." Shadow Man chuckled as he looked on.

"What part of that is karate?" Miyabi skeptically asked.

"Ask the mountain who flew by the river."

"Very original."

"So this is what you name a "party"?" Xon' Edos appeared next to Omega in a corner of the Cyber World.

"More or less. The meaning of it changes according to the person. These matches are just to test each other's strength and intelligence… Did you want to tell us something?"

"Ah, yes. I finished encoding the information in pieces and keeping them in different directories and such. But only the basic overview, of course, no actual details." He reported.

"OK. We already made sure to do the same so this way no-one will be able to recreate what Twilight did." Omega nodded in agreement.

"Yet… I am still surprised and so are my companions and superiors at the scale of what he did… We all looked into the records we have but we could not find anything that matched remotely what Twilight did. It would seem they did build orbital elevators for easier access to space but since no-one would authorize the launch of "Duo" they did so from the ground in secret… That asides, my orders are to keep a closer watch and cooperate in all possible manners to prevent the widespread and abuse of such technology." He whispered.

"Alright. Same goal here, so let's work together on it."

"Guts! Mega Ultra Guts Hammer!"

"Dice Bomb!"

Guts Man loaded energy on his hammer until it glowed red hot and hit the floor with it but it shattered into pieces upon contact while the dice rolled up a "6" and exploded: the blast's energy release and damage made Guts Man unable to move.

"Sheesh. You got scammed again?" Roll sighed.

"We warned you. Many times. That's what happens when you ignore advice we gave you for your sake." Meiru sighed, too.

"I'm sorry~! Meiru – chaaannn! I wanted to impress you!"

"Why don't you try to impress yourself by putting more effort into homework and exams?" Netto sighed, somewhat resigned.

"Yeah. Instead of chasing dreams." Saito added.

"Next time ask us and we'll help you make a real hammer." Isaac offered.

"Yeah. It's a piece of a cake." Nelaus patted Dekao's back.

"O-OK… T-thanks…" He blushed and looked away.

"Don't mind it, we're all buddies! Of the "Miss Joke & Co." group!"

"Here we go again." Hikawa laughed.

 _So this pointless war is finally over. But now comes the hard job: to enjoy yet to not to lower the guard at the same time… But we can do it. And they will build a better future._ Vadous thought as he looked on.

 _We might have hard challenges too but we'll overcome them together, like we've always done._ Omega reflected as well

"So, Isaac… Maybe we should renamed ourselves to the "Diamond Duo"?"

"Hah, hah. Well, why not… Since we use a blade made of diamond…"

"OK! Saito – niisan… You know the drill! We'll tackle the challenges!"

"Yeah! With dedication and passion!"

"Mwah, hah, hah. And with rumbling rumbles!"

"Heh. Sure, why not… Let's build the new future together!"

Everyone laughed cheerily as their voices echoed across the garden…

 **THE END**


End file.
